Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew hopes imminent investment heralds a new era

American businessmen Josh Harris and David Blitzer are set to purchase a reported £100million controlling stake in the Selhurst Park outfit.

The deal will see the duo, who already own the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils, hold an equal 18 per cent share in the club with Steve Parish, who will remain as chairman.

Speaking ahead of Palace's Barclays Premier League clash against Stoke, Pardew said: "I have been involved to some degree with Josh and David

We have met

I see they have a passion for this football club which has grown over the last 18 months.

"It goes alongside the passion the chairman has and myself for the football club, and together we hope it might embark on a new era for the football club.

"Hopefully our fans - who have had a great couple of seasons - can now look forward to the future with expectation.

"I look at clubs like Bolton and the current situation they are in, and I think about this football club and how a phoenix can rise, and we want to keep rising."

Pardew is approaching his one-year anniversary in charge at Palace

He guided them to an impressive 10th-place finish last season, and they are sixth ahead of their trip to Stoke on Saturday.

And the former Newcastle manager revealed the investment deal was on the agenda when he agreed to take charge of Palace in January.

"There was a very strong feeling that the guys would come on board," Pardew said.

"I needed to be part of that to understand what Steve Parish's vision for the football club was

If it wasn't that vision that he sold me, I probably would not be here, so Steve Parish deserves a lot of credit for where this football club is.

"The players and my team also deserve some credit to to get us in the position where we have got this kind of backing."

Parish, who helped save the club from bankruptcy in 2010, will remain in charge of the day-to-day running of Crystal Palace while a reported £50m will also be invested in the stadium.

"I think the important part in the negotiations was Steve's position," added Pardew.

"I think it was very important that the slight nuances in the game are understood by Steve and I can get a message to him which is sometimes not easy to translate to people who do not understand the Premier League.

"So, he can filter through all the information that I give to the guys so they can make a sensible and judged decision.

"We are making decisions which have a low-risk factor and that is something we have done well at this football cub

We have signed players at the right money, at the right time, and that is why we have such a good squad."

Source : PA

Source: PA