Everton sign club-record deal despite Newcastle United move and Aston Villa ‘complaints’

Everton will be the latest Premier League team to have their kits made by Castore next season after they agreed a multi-year deal worth a reported £20m a season, double what they received from Hummel, their previous kit manufacturer. Castore, who also make kits for reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen and Rangers, have also branched into other sports with cricket and tennis deals.

However, their move into football hasn’t been without its problems with Aston Villa players complaining last season that their ‘wet look’ shirts were becoming heavy and impacting their performances on the pitch. Those complaints led to Newcastle United to come out and defend Castore, who also made their kit last season, describing them as ‘high quality’. 

Both Villa and Newcastle will wear Adidas kits from the beginning of next season. Newcastle United’s deal with Adidas is worth upwards of £30m a season for the Magpies with the launch of their new home strip last Friday seeing queues around the block at St James’ Park with fans keen to get their hands on the new playing shirt and retro-look training range.

Castore’s deal with Everton, meanwhile, will be a much needed boost for the Toffees’ finances amid their concerns over Profit and Sustainability Rules. An extra £10m a season from their new kit deal will go a long way in ensuring they are able to be compliant with the rules and help them as they try and avoid a third points deduction.

On Castore, Richard Kenyon, Everton’s chief commercial and communications officer, said: “We are really pleased to welcome Castore as our new technical kit partner from next season and to announce them as the first Founding Partner of Everton Stadium.

“The agreement – another record deal for the Club – sees us link up with an ambitious and innovative sportswear brand and comes at a historic time for Everton as we prepare for our stadium move. From our very first conversations, we could see how excited Castore were about the opportunity to work alongside us during this period and we’re looking forward to launching the first set of products this summer.”