Newcastle United could 'supercharge' a title challenge in the years to come by building a new stadium.

That is the view of former Newcastle striker Louis Saha as the club weigh up whether to 'transform' St James' Park or to construct a new ground 'not too far away'. It is a delicate decision, but Brad Miller, Newcastle's chief operating officer, has stressed the Magpies' chosen stadium scheme 'must provide an investable return and not least deliver strong revenue growth to increase our PSR headroom'.

For context, Newcastle brought in £57m in match day income last year, according to Deloitte, as well as £75.5m in commercial revenue, but these figures pale in comparison to, say, Spurs. There are obvious caveats - Spurs are a London club, after all - but the Lilywhites generated £103.1m in match day income and an additional £249m in commercial revenue with the help of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which has staged big-name concerts, become the official home of the NFL in the UK and played host to the first F1 branded electric karting experience in the world.

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Although struggling Spurs have not made the most of their increased capacity to spend, Saha has suggested a new arena would 'definitely put Newcastle in the bracket of challengers' down the line.

"That is the reality of elite football clubs," he said. "If you don't have a big stadium with the type of facilities that brings in huge revenues, you will struggle now, especially with the PSR rules.

"Newcastle are a massive club. I actually think that they are a club that can challenge for the title, but a new stadium and the revenues that go with that would supercharge that challenge.

"They need a bit of improvement in the squad, but I don't think that they are far off. They are close.

"If they can get their numbers right in terms of revenue, then there is absolutely no reason why Newcastle can’t take the next step. Of course it will take time, it isn’t going to happen overnight, but having that infrastructure in place will secure the foundations of the team to be competitive for years and years."

Newcastle have a long way to go, of course, to close the gap on the top, but Eddie Howe has stressed the black-and-whites 'need world-class facilities if the club's ambitions are to be realised'. Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has previously spoken of his long-term aim to be number one.