Over four years since the PIF-backed takeover of the club, and there’s still plenty on the executive’s to-do list if we want to truly rival the elite in both the Premier League and on the continent.
The worst-kept secret in football is that we’re due to announce a new stadium next year up on Leazes Park, with the owners and new CEO David Hopkinson keen to become a commercial powerhouse sooner rather than later.
But we’re still some way off matching the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City, not only their financial dominance within the Premier League, but other aspects of the BlueCo and City Football Group systems.
And according to a new report, Yasir Al-Rumayyan is openly pushing for us to adopt new measures to ensure we remain competitive and evolve, which certainly won’t go down with the rest of the league if it ever came to fruition…
As revealed by The i’s Mark Douglas, Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is eager to see Newcastle form a multi-club network and is a big fan of Red Bull football model.
Admiring the current Red Bull network, which includes RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls as well as teams in Brazil and Japan, Al-Rumayyan has a vision for the type of club we will become further down the line.
Adopting a system similar to what Chelsea has with French side Strasbourg – effectively a feeder club whom Chelsea can take the best talent from whilst sending players out on loan – would do wonders not only for our youth system in terms of earning competitive minutes, but would almost certainly some with some transfer and financial benefits.
The move would be seen as a big step forward in terms of the club’s evolution, with Douglas quoting one source’s comments of “We know how important getting these details right is for the club.”
But for now however, Al-Rumayyan seems relatively pleased with the day-to-day operations of the club, with the arrival of CEO David Hopkinson and sporting director Ross Wilson leaving us in safe hands after Darren Eales and Paul Mitchell’s drawn out departures.
Since personally intervening in the Alexander Isak saga back in the summer, we’re in much calmer waters off the field, and Al-Rumayyan backs both Hopkinson and Wilson to make the right calls, allowing PIF to adopt less of a hands on approach.
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