By Kieran Maguire

18th Sep, 2023 | 10:41am

Kieran Maguire: Nottingham Forest set for 'big' FFP boost as £14m deal agreed

Nottingham Forest have boosted their recruitment budget by signing a £14million front-of-shirt sponsorship deal.

That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Football Insider that Forest ‘overpriced’ themselves when looking to strike a similar deal last season.

Forest announced at the end of August that they have struck a two-year deal with Kaiyun Sports to become the club’s new front-of-shirt sponsor.

Steve Cooper’s side had no shirt sponsor during the 2022/23 season after it was revealed that the club wanted a deal worth £10million per season.

Football Insider revealed on Thursday (14 September) that the Kaiyun Sports deal is worth £14million over two years – below Forest’s initial asking price.

Maguire believes the £7million-a-year deal is a ‘benchmark price’ for Forest.

“I think this deal gives Nottingham Forest some certainty,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.

“I think they overpriced themselves last season by asking for £10million for the same type of deal.

“There wasn’t anyone willing to snap their hands off at that price, especially as they had such a modest start to the season.

“It counts towards FFP, and it is well-known that Forest have been very busy in the transfer market since their promotion.

“So it will give their recruitment budget a big boost, especially if they sign players on longer-term contracts so amortisation will reduce the costs.

“A deal worth £7million per season for a club of Forest’s stature is what I’d call a benchmark price.

“They’re not selling themselves short, but they’re also not extracting above market rates which is what I think they were trying to do last season.“

In other news, Major update on Sheffield United swoop for ex-Nottingham Forest star