‘I’m hearing…’ - Keith Wyness shares value of deal as Sunderland in advanced sponsor talks

Sunderland’s potential sponsorship deal with Visit Ghana could be worth as much as £10million.

That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that any deal is likely to be at the “lower level” of Premier League front-of-shirt sponsorships.

The likely deal was recently announced by the Speaker in Ghanaian Parliament, who outlined that the brand, led by the country’s private sector, are in talks with the Black Cats.

Wyness believes that a deal could have strong benefits for both parties, and feels that Sunderland will have shown strong “forward thinking” if it gets done.

The Black Cats recently released their new home shirt without the addition of a sponsor, but the club remain adamant that they will find a company to work with. 

Wyness believes that they deserve to be commended if they can get the Visit Ghana deal over the line, such are the difficulties that Premier League clubs have faced since the ban on gambling companies as front-of-shirt sponsors was implemented.

Sponsorship deal could spark Sunderland links with Ghana

Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Sunderland could see long-term benefits from a footballing perspective if they strike up a partnership with Visit Ghana.

The Scottish businessman pointed towards some of the outstanding talents that the African nation has produced, and suggested that the Wearsiders could gain access to their young talent pools if a deal was reached. 

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, he made it clear that it would be a satisfactory deal for the club.

“When I looked at this one, it does seem that there's some private sector involvement in this, so that would probably mean the hotels and some of the travel industry key people in Ghana have also chipped in,” Wyness said.

“What I'm hearing is that it's going to be around £10m and that sort of number. And that's on the lower level, but it's still a good number for Sunderland. And there could be more work to do with Ghana.

“There's been some superb Ghanaian players over the years, and I think that if Sunderland got involved somehow in the Ghanaian football network as well, there could be some benefits for both parties there.

“Sunderland have shown their forward thinking, and I think this is quite a good deal. It’ll be at the lower end of the Premier League in terms of shirt sponsorships, but still, given the issues around gambling, et cetera, it sounds like it’s been done in a very creative way.”

Sunderland take firm Brian Brobbey transfer stance

Former Sunderland chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider at the end of July that his former club intend to block any approaches for key striker Brian Brobbey this summer. 

The Dutchman impressed with eight goals in his debut Premier League campaign last term, and he has been linked with several of the league’s top clubs in recent weeks.

Brown outlined that the North East outfit are ready to stand in the way of Brobbey’s exit this summer, unless an offer comes in that allows them to net “silly money.”

Regis Le Bris’ side are preparing to balance the Europa League with their domestic campaign, and as a result, have no intention of losing any of their key players.