Are Puma working on a new PWRCat?

This is not necessarily something that is on every one’s radar, but I did notice that we hadn’t picked it up in our recent Wiki(BOOT)Leaks calendar and it is worth mentioning. Considering the astounding success of Puma’s PWRCat boot range, a standout favourite for the likes of Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick of Manchester United, I wasn’t sure that there was any reason to alter the PWRCat formula bar new (and exciting) colourways.

I think I may be wrong though.

I was surfing through Getty Images’s collection of pre-season training photos, as I customarily do. It’s always good for amateur sports photographers to see what the professionals see when they look through their lenses. And naturally, boots also tend to be a highlight of my viewings. It’s curious to see who is wearing what and, if we’re lucky enough to find out, why. That’s what made Clint Dempsey’s candid interview explaining his rotating choice of boots as he recovered from a toe injury the more fascinating. It was an insight into a footballer’s mind.

That’s when I found pictures of a whiteout Puma boot. I say Puma because of the stud formation. I’ll show pictures later, but having previously experimented with Puma boots, I’m familiar with the unique heel stud design. Joey Barton being one of my players of interest – he had a fantastic season last year, and when he is not “distracted”, he can be a very good player – I was curious to see that he was wearing whiteout Pumas in Newcastle’s first pre-season friendly against Darlington.

 Curious indeed. Barton has been wearing Puma boots intermittently during training since Newcastle signed a new kit deal with Puma last season. He’s been spotted in the Puma Kings a couple of times despite his apparent affinity for adidas’s previous incarnation of the Predator range. It appears that Barton, however, has not joined the adiPower conversion trend that has seen many professionals leave a variety of boots (from different makers).

Here is another look at the sole. Puma stud formation?

I didn’t think much of this as I could not find other images of the boot. Figured it could be a one off thing. Then I was perusing (I’m showing off my SAT vocabulary today) through Everton’s pre-season photos and found that Mikel Arteta, who signed with Puma at the end of last season, was also wearing whiteout boots. Curious. Very curious, indeed.

Has anybody out there heard of a new Puma boot in the works?