Newcastle United Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan was in attendance for the win against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
It was a fantastic game for the PIF head to witness, Eddie Howe’s side scored four devastating goals in 11 minutes and fought off a late comeback from Nottingham Forest to win and move up to fifth in the Premier League table.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan has the final say on any big decisions at Newcastle United – he is set to make the biggest decision in the club’s history after seeing the options regarding the future of St James’ Park.
PIF travelled to Newcastle to scrutinise plans to either build a new 70,000-seater stadium or expand the existing site to around 60,000 capacity. The feeling at the moment is that the PIF want a new stadium for Newcastle to substantially increase the amount of revenue they will receive from matchdays.
Despite seeing all possible options including a third plan that would see St James’ Park get a makeover, Toon bosses did not make their official decision on the day.
With Newcastle fans eagerly awaiting the future of their beloved home ground, Howe has gone public with his feelings on recent discussions with Al-Rumayyan.
Eddie Howe’s pleasure at Newcastle talks
While a lot of Howe’s work is on the pitch, he is still able to voice his opinion to those who pull the strings off it. Newcastle’s big-wigs held a meeting on Monday to discuss plans for the future – stadium plans will not have been the only thing on the club’s agenda.
In attendance were sporting director Paul Mitchell, Darren Eales, Brad Miller and Peter Silverstone. Mitchell’s attendance means that there is a big chance the summer transfer window was discussed, perhaps he was voicing his displeasure for Newcastle’s lack of squad depth to club bosses.
Howe confirmed that he was in present for some of the meetings throughout the day – he also confirmed he had conversations with Al-Rumayyan after Newcastle’s win against Forest on Sunday.
On his conversations and the meeting, Howe said: “I had various conversations with him. I always take heart from seeing him and talking with him because you see his passion for Newcastle and you see how much he directly cares about everything that’s going on here. He was in good spirits and enjoyed seeing us win.
“A lot was discussed at the meetings. I was in some of them. I can’t say anything (about what was said) but I was very pleased that the ambition and drive to be successful is still very much there from everyone connected to the club.”
Al-Rumayyan is pleased with Newcastle’s progress
While Al-Rumayyan has not been in attendance as frequently, he still supports the club from afar.
PIF did ‘ extremely well’ when buying Newcastle, according to the Toon chairman who bought the club for a steal of a price in comparison to how much other Premier League clubs have been valued at in recent years.
Al-Rumayyan played football at St James’ Park following the win and looked in great spirits after the result. It’s now down to him to decide on where Newcastle will be playing their football in the years to come.
The PIF may also hand Newcastle more lucrative sponsorships in the next 12 months following a ruling on the Premier League’s APT rules which should benefit Newcastle in the future.
PIF advertisements were spotted at St James’ Park in January and were still prominent throughout Sunday’s win – there’s a clear plan forming behind the scenes which could soon be unveiled to fans.
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