The Premier League could welcome another American owner in the shape of Josh Harris as reports suggest Steve Parish has come to an agreement with the New Jersey Devils owner.
The sale of Crystal Palace has been in the pipeline for 15 months, with Harris wanting to invest in the club last spring; but talks broke down and ever since the rumours have been put on the backburner.
But now it seems Parish, along with other shareholders, Stephen Browett, Jeremy Hosking and Martin Long have agreed to let Harris buy a stake in the club.
Parish and co have been in charge of Palace since 2010 when they brought the club out of administration; since then they have seen remarkable progress; they are currently an established top-flight club that is looking to push into unknown territory.
Harris is the co-founder of Apollo Global Management Company, and he also owns the New Jersey Devils, as well as the Philadelphia 76ers. And with an estimated worth of 2.1bn the owner would be able to grant the funds capable of pushing Palace into a new era.
Parish currently owns 25% of the club, and with Harris’s impending arrival it is thought no-one will have a bigger stake than the current chairman; the rest of the board members stakes will be diluted.
The deal in principle will also see Parish, Browett, Hosking and Long remaining in charge and running the day-to-day operations of the club.
Extra investment will pave the way for Selhurst Park redevelopment
With the impending arrival of Harris, it will certainly allow Parish to upgrade the stadium and give the place a much-needed face-lift.
Speaking to the Guardian in the summer, Parish said he would need at least: “£80m for the thing I want to do to the stadium, maybe £30m for the academy.”
The Arthur Wait stand would need attention, the old and historic stand has seen better days; and with dreams of expanding the capacity to 40,000, work on a new main stand could come into fruition.
The deal could see Harris installed as early as Christmas, meaning more funds could be given to Alan Pardew as Palace look to continue their remarkable rise as a Premier League club.