Newcastle's new front of shirt sponsors have been keen to be visible in the city and around the stadium across the last couple of weeks
Knox Hydrate have been a visible presence during Matthias Jaissle's Newcastle United press conferences
Knox Hydrate have been a visible presence during Matthias Jaissle's Newcastle United press conferences(Image: Scott Heppell/PA Wire)
Newcastle United donned their new home kit for the first time in a competitive fixture over the weekend as the Magpies played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Liverpool at St James' Park.
And that also meant Newcastle wore kits with their main kit sponsor Knox Hydrate emblazoned on the front of their shirts for the first time in what is the first of a three-year £60million deal for them to be the front of shirt sponsor.
That deal, of course, came hot on the heels of the club's training ground being rebranded as the Knox training centre after they struck a deal to be the sponsor of Newcastle's training base.
As such, their presence in Newcastle is being continually felt, with Knox beginning to be rolled out across the UK. It has been noted by eagle eyed fans on social media that in press conferences head coach Matthias Jaissle has been drinking a can of Knox and ensuring the label is visible on the TV cameras.
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But across the last couple of weeks Knox co-founder Ethan Hughes, CEO John Schaefer and director of global marketing Mark Jacobs have been ingratiating themselves with Tyneside life.
The trio were all present for the Visit Malta Weekender which rounded off pre-season with Newcastle's men taking on Bayer Leverkusen and Strasbourg and Newcastle's women facing Inter Milan.
The Knox chiefs first took in a match at St James' Park back in January when the Magpies beat PSV 3-0 in the Champions League but they will now start to become more recognisable and frequent visitors to the stadium.
They were in attendance for Newcastle's pulsating 2-2 draw with Liverpool, too, rounding off a trip where they have spoken to fans in the city's pubs and restaurants - putting £1,000 behind the bar in the Dubliner pub on the Quayside over the weekend.
They also played a role in the Newcastle United Business Club event in the stadium earlier this week, as well as speaking to reporters ahead of a media game that was put on at the training ground last week.
As well as Newcastle, Knox also have a high profile partnership with the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), too, owing largely to the fact that mixed martial artist and former UFC middleweight world champion Dricus Du Plessis is a co-founder of the company.
Knox co-founder and former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis is keen to get to a Newcastle game
Knox co-founder and former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis is keen to get to a Newcastle game(Image: Saeed KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Chronicle Live understands that when his fighting schedule allows for it, the South African is planning to attend a number of Newcastle home matches across the three-year deal.
After Sela's multi-million pound deal came to an end at the end of last season, and the efforts they made to put on light displays for supporters and sponsor the Stack complex outside of the stadium, Knox had a big act to follow. But they have made a positive start to following in those footsteps across the last couple of weeks.