Newcastle United's preparations to welcome new kit sponsor Castore have nudged up a level.
The new suppliers are set to take the place of Puma after 11 years at St James' Park with a shop fitting project under way on Gallowgate.
United have stayed tight-lipped on the launch date for the new Castore range and the firm's PR group have also kept their counsel in recent months.
The Liverpool-based brand have Glasgow Rangers, tennis star Andy Murray and the West Indies cricket team on their books with Newcastle set to be announced next.
It means that the club shop at the bottom of the Gallowgate End is set for a fresh new look for the 2021/22 season.
Several kit leaks have emerged over the summer and fans can expect to see something different before pre-season begins on July 5 and Newcastle boss Steve Bruce and his squad will be donning the new brand.
A mission statement from Castore reads: "Castore was created to bring a new level of performance to men’s sportswear. Our mission is to build the lightest, most durable, highest performing sportswear in the market and to achieve this we test products the hard way.
"We leave no stone unturned in our search for performance enhancement and work only with world leading partners to push the boundaries of sportswear innovation and give our athletes an edge."
Newcastle's deal with Castore was agreed by the current board with managing director Lee Charnley and marketing staff negotiating the new package.
It is believed that Rangers' deal with Castore is worth around £20million over five years.
Whether Newcastle have struck a bigger deal than Rangers remains to be seen but the arrangement with main shirt sponsors Fun88 was said to the biggest in club history when they edged past the £24million package with previous sponsors Wonga back in 2017.
