Premier League

The theory goes that the biggest deals of the football season have been done and the chaos of the transfer market can be put back in its box until summer.

[Leeds](https://theathletic.com/football/team/leeds-united/), meanwhile, are expected to continue their multi-year deal with SBOTOP. [Wolverhampton Wanderers](https://theathletic.com/football/team/wolverhampton-wanderers/) are also due to see shirt sponsorship agreements expire at the end of this season. [Aston Villa](https://theathletic.com/football/team/aston-villa/) have had a backlash from supporters after a proposed deal with online casino [BK8 — which was axed by Norwich in 2021 over sexually provocative adverts](https://theathletic.com/2643516/2021/06/10/norwichs-bk8-pr-disaster-was-an-embarrassment-for-a-club-used-to-the-moral-high-ground/) — became public earlier this month. [Manchester United](https://theathletic.com/football/team/manchester-united/) are in the market for a shirt sponsor after it was announced in December that [the club and TeamViewer, the German software firm, had agreed to curtail a deal due to run until 2026](https://theathletic.com/4006335/2022/12/15/man-utd-teamviewer-sponsor/). It is in the bottom half of the Premier League where partnerships with gambling firms figure most prominently. Manchester United’s deal with TeamViewer — which replaced Chevrolet before the 2021-22 season — was worth more than Chelsea’s arrangement with 3, and there will be ambitions to see greater sums recouped with a new long-term partnership. But doing those deals at the same time places a hell of a strain on the commercial team.” The cornerstone of a healthy portfolio of sponsors are your major assets that you want locked in for the long-term at premium value. Those figures will be viewed through cynical eyes by the European football establishment, but the pressure is on to maximise their own income. The marketing world expects a backer with links to Saudi Arabia after the Public Investment Fund takeover transformed life at St James’ Park, creating an untapped source of revenue for a club that trailed its rivals by a distance under Mike Ashley. Etihad, the UAE-based airline, is expected to continue its long partnership as shirt sponsor if something more lucrative cannot be found, but the water is being tested by the Premier League champions. [Chelsea](https://theathletic.com/football/team/chelsea/), the biggest spenders in January, have neither a front-of-shirt nor a sleeve sponsor for next season.