Newcastle United owners consider major move as representatives visit European club

Newcastle United have reportedly held talks with KV Oostende about adding the Belgian outfit to its proposed network of clubs.

Speaking at the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit in London last month, co-owner Amanda Staveley revealed the Magpies were looking at the multi-club model in order to enhance its global brand and boost player recruitment.

United’s Premier League rivals Manchester City have built one of the most successful multi-club networks in the world. Its City Football Group has the likes of Girona FC, New York City, Melbourne City, Lommel SK and Mumbai City FC in its portfolio.

“We’re looking at everything in terms of how we grow our brand, our club,” said Staveley, whose PCP Partners own 10 per-cent of Newcastle United. “Opportunities to buy players affordably well early in the cycle are critical to our growth. We’re very focused on the academy and young players. We’re bringing some exciting guys in.

“Obviously we’ve looked at a multi-club but whenever you look at multi-club you’ve got to make sure you’ve got the right fit with the changes around GBE points at the moment. It’s important to do that.

“You also have to choose your territory correctly and make sure you’ve got the right chemistry. Remember, you’re working with another fanbase and another area. It’s critical you set out what your goals will be. It’s complicated.

“We’re also looking at another structure that would allow us to do both, maybe something that gives us more opportunity to work with a lot more clubs. That’s just quite an early stage. I think anybody who is looking to buy a club is going to be looking at that multi-club model.”

According to reports in Belgium, a delegation from Newcastle, who are 80 per-cent owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, visited the Oostende’s stadium and training complex. It’s also claimed

The report claims the owners of Oostende have also spoken with Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Bournemouth have shown interest.

Oostende will spend next season in Belgium’s second-tier after a 4-0 loss to OH Leuven brought an end to their ten-year stay in the top-flight.

Get the latest Newcastle United headlines with our free football newsletter! Follow the action from St James’ Park and beyond as we bring the sport news to you. Visit our website here to sign up.