Newcastle United part-owner Amanda Staveley is 'not intimidated' and can deal with 'awkward' agents.
That is according to Sir Nigel Wilson, the chief executive of Legal and General, who is well-placed to comment. Not only Sir Nigel a lifelong Newcastle fan - the Newton Aycliffe native has personally seen Staveley 'operating on all those different levels'.
It was Staveley, for example, who dealt with a number of targets' representatives during the owners' crucial first transfer window at Newcastle in January, 2022. Although the hierarchy have since brought in an executive team, including CEO Darren Eales and sporting director Dan Ashworth, they remain involved.
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Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and chief commercial officer Peter Silverstone worked alongside Matthew O'Donohoe, the president of CAA Sports International, on the club's lucrative front of shirt sponsorship deal with Sela, which was announced last month. In fact, Staveley was even O'Donohoe's guest at the Masters golf tournament back in April.
Although few knew why Staveley was present, the financier spoke to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan that day. Monahan, of course, was vehemently opposed to the LIV Golf circuit funded by the PIF at the time. However, just a couple of months later, Monahan would hail a 'historic day' following the PGA Tour and DP World Tour's shock merger with LIV Golf - and Staveley played her part in this unexpected truce.
“She can deal with people," Sir Nigel told the Financial Times. "Awkward players. Awkward agents. Managers. Complex shareholders. I’ve seen her operating on all those different levels. She’s not intimidated by the audience that she’s in.”
