CHELSEA TALKING TO POTENTIAL NEW SHIRT SPONSORS

Chelsea are actively talking to potential new shirt partners as they enter the final year of their deal with Yokohama Tyres, according to the Athletic.

The Blues’£200 million (US$46.4 million), five-year deal with the Japanese tyre company was the second biggest in the Premier League when it was signed in 2015, but it has since been matched or eclipsed by top six rivals Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham. Manchester United’s £53 million (US$65.3 million) a year contract with Chevrolet is the most lucrative in the top flight.

Chelsea and their current partner reportedly held discussions about renewing their deal beyond 2020 during the club’s pre-season tour to Japan, which featured a match in Yokohama against Kawasaki Frontale - a request the sponsor had apparently been asking for since the partnership started.

With the deal set to run out at the end of the season, Chelsea, apparently with Yokohama’s ‘knowledge and understanding’, have been testing the market. The Athletic report added that it has seen communication between the club and one unnamed company regarding the inventory.

As an established member of the Premier League’s elite, Chelsea remain an attractive commercial proposition. In 2016 they agreed a kit deal with Nike worth a reported UK£60 million a season over 15 years and their six-year, UK£50 million (US$64.4 million) Hyundai sleeve sponsorship signed in 2018 also places them amongst the league’s highest commercial earners.