October 27 2014

Steve Parish

Crystal Palace are on the verge of being taken over by an American businessman, according to newspaper reports.

New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris is reportedly entering a period of due diligence on the club.

It is suggested the co-founder of Apollo Global Management has 90 per cent agreed a deal with Palace's current owners for around £70m.

Harris, 49, has been interested in purchasing a Premier League club for a while and was put off by Aston Villa's valuation of £200m - but London-based Palace would be deemed more attractive.

Palace co-chairman Steve Parish denied a deal was imminent but admits he would be open to a change of ownership if it helped push the club forward.

He said: "There are always people who want to buy football clubs. Sometimes people approach you and it gets out, sometimes people approach you and it doesn’t, but there is no imminent takeover.

"We are talking to a number of people on a number of fronts. I’ve always said that if somebody wanted to invest in the club and move it forward quicker than I or we [CPFC 2010] can then we would entertain it.

"We look at all possibilities that are out there – and there are many – but people have been quite ahead of themselves on this one."