Crystal Palace manager embracing American investment in club

The deal, finally signed off in the United States on Wednesday night, sees 70% of Palace shares changing hands – with chairman Steve Parish retaining an equal shareholding alongside Harris and Blitzer. We’ve met and I’ve seen their passion for this football club has grown over the past 18 months. This investment had always been deliberated over and it looked like the deal was going through late a year ago before talks cooled.

The Crystal Palace manager, Alan Pardew, does not expect the imminent investment of £100m by the American businessmen, Joshua Harris and David Blitzer, to impact greatly on his playing staff because the majority of the money will be spent on renovating Selhurst Park. I think about this football club and a phoenix can rise and we want to keep rising.

Harris and his business partner Blitzer are no strangers to having a say in sports clubs, as Harris owns the Philadelphia 76ers, a NBA basketball team, and the New Jersey Devils, an NHL ice hockey team.

However, current co-owners Steve Browett, Martin Long and Jeremy Hosking will reduce their shareholding.

The attacking midfielder has only played seven times in all competitions to date, but he admits that his teammates are in very good form.

“I am quite happy with the squad”, Pardew said.

He said: “Yes, it was on the agenda of course, and it wasn’t by any means a deal that was ratified in any way, but there were very strong feelings the guys would come on board and of course I needed to be part of that to understand what Steve Parish’s vision was for the football club”. We have got one or two that might go out on loan or might move on. “Certainly we do not want to lose any of our key players because they are driving the club forward”.

However McArthur says he is enjoying life with the Eagles and is concentrating on trying to fire the club into Europe rather than worry about rumours linking him with a move.