There is inevitably a sense of trepidation among supporters when foreign investors show an interest in their football club. Precisely half of the 20 current Premier League teams have a substantial shareholding based overseas.

Crystal Palace are about to become No11. Josh Harris, co-founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, and his business partner David Blitzer, a senior executive at investment firm Blackstone, are set to take an 18 per cent stake each in Palace as part of a deal to be announced in the coming weeks.

The American duo are no strangers to sports investment — with Apollo housing ice hockey team the New Jersey Devils and basketball’s Philadelphia 76ers in its stable — but are new to English football. They have yet to make their intentions publicly clear but the man who invited them into Selhurst Park is adamant Harris and Blitzer will accelerate the club’s current plans rather than radically alter course.

Steve Parish was part of the CPFC 2010 consortium — also comprising Stephen Browett, Jeremy Hosking and Martin Long, each previously with a 25 per cent stake — which saved the club from administration five years ago.

Aerial views of sporting venues (MPS helicopters) 14 show all Aerial views of sporting venues (MPS helicopters) 1/14 Olympic Stadium Purpose built for the 2012 London Games in Stratford, east London, the Olympic Stadium will be home to West Ham United from 2016. 2/14 Wembley Stadium The home of the England football team has its stunning 315 metre long arch lit up for an evening international match. 3/14 The Emirates Stadium With a capacity of 60,361, Arsenal's home is the third largest football stadium in England after Wembley and Old Trafford 4/14 All England Tennis Club These 42 acres in South West London draw the gazes of a nation for a fortnight every year during the Wimbledon tennis championships 5/14 Stamford Bridge Chelsea FC's 42,000 capacity stadium in Fulham has been home to the Blues since 1905 6/14 Craven Cottage Found next to Bishop's Park on the banks of the Thames, Craven Cottage is home to Fulham FC 7/14 The Oval The home of Surrey County Cricket Club and scene of many memorable moments for England is found in Kennington, south London. 8/14 Twickenham Seating more than 80,000 spectators, Twickenham is the world's largest venue dedicated to rugby union. 9/14 White Hart Lane Tottenham Hotspur's home was built in 1899 but could soon make way for a new larger scale stadium as part of the club's Northumberland Development Project. 10/14 The Den Located in South Bermondsey and home to Millwall FC, the Den has a capacity of 20,000. 11/14 Selhurst Park Nestled in the south London suburb of South Norwood, Selhurst Park is home to Crystal Palace FC. 12/14 Loftus Road QPR's home in Shepherd's Bush has the accolade of being the first British stadium in professional football to have an artificial pitch when it installed 'Omniturf' in 1981. 13/14 The O2 Arena From the wreckage of the government's ill conceived Millennium Experience emerged the O2 arena. The venue is known primarily for music concerts but also regularly hosts top sporting events including NBA basketball, ATP tennis finals and boxing. 14/14 The Valley Charlton Athletic's 27,000 seater-stadium hosted the loudest rock concert ever when The Who came to town in 1976. 1/14 Olympic Stadium Purpose built for the 2012 London Games in Stratford, east London, the Olympic Stadium will be home to West Ham United from 2016. 2/14 Wembley Stadium The home of the England football team has its stunning 315 metre long arch lit up for an evening international match. 3/14 The Emirates Stadium With a capacity of 60,361, Arsenal's home is the third largest football stadium in England after Wembley and Old Trafford 4/14 All England Tennis Club These 42 acres in South West London draw the gazes of a nation for a fortnight every year during the Wimbledon tennis championships 5/14 Stamford Bridge Chelsea FC's 42,000 capacity stadium in Fulham has been home to the Blues since 1905 6/14 Craven Cottage Found next to Bishop's Park on the banks of the Thames, Craven Cottage is home to Fulham FC 7/14 The Oval The home of Surrey County Cricket Club and scene of many memorable moments for England is found in Kennington, south London. 8/14 Twickenham Seating more than 80,000 spectators, Twickenham is the world's largest venue dedicated to rugby union. 9/14 White Hart Lane Tottenham Hotspur's home was built in 1899 but could soon make way for a new larger scale stadium as part of the club's Northumberland Development Project. 10/14 The Den Located in South Bermondsey and home to Millwall FC, the Den has a capacity of 20,000. 11/14 Selhurst Park Nestled in the south London suburb of South Norwood, Selhurst Park is home to Crystal Palace FC. 12/14 Loftus Road QPR's home in Shepherd's Bush has the accolade of being the first British stadium in professional football to have an artificial pitch when it installed 'Omniturf' in 1981. 13/14 The O2 Arena From the wreckage of the government's ill conceived Millennium Experience emerged the O2 arena. The venue is known primarily for music concerts but also regularly hosts top sporting events including NBA basketball, ATP tennis finals and boxing. 14/14 The Valley Charlton Athletic's 27,000 seater-stadium hosted the loudest rock concert ever when The Who came to town in 1976.

All four have conceded equity to bring the new investors on board, with Parish dropping to 18 per cent and he revealed the club’s tumultuous history weighed heavy on his shoulders when identifying the right business partners to take them forward.

“You have to kiss a lot of frogs,” Parish told Standard Sport. “That’s really the art of it. These Americans have proved in their other investments that they don’t run away.

“They will add value. They have got a lot of sporting interests and understand a lot of things about sport and stadia and their help will be beneficial, whether it is in sport science or the staging of different sporting events.

“Finances aside, the club have been through too much over the last 25 years and really this is about a whole new level of stability: an investor base that is there to invest in the good times but that can also stand any shocks or issues that come our way. That hasn’t been the case necessarily in the past. We have had well-intentioned people but not necessarily with the power to cope with adversity.”

Parish first met the pair around 18 months ago. Talks stalled at the turn of the year as Palace sacked Neil Warnock with the club’s top-flight status uncertain. But the upturn in fortunes under Alan Pardew helped revive the deal, as did the strengthening of Parish’s relationship with Harris, whose estimated worth stands at £1.4billion, and Blitzer across the Atlantic.

“They made a point of looking me up whenever they were in town and over time we got more comfortable with each other,” Parish said.

“What would be your fear as a supporter? That money would be taken out of the club as we go along and that it would damage the competitiveness of the club? That isn’t going to happen. The guys are not in it for short-term money. Nor is it their requirement.

“Their investment with us represents a pretty small one in terms of their overall wealth. They don’t need an income stream from Crystal Palace. The only time they might realise that investment is if they sold the club in five or 10 years’ time for a lot more money than it is worth now.

“I can reassure supporters that I am not going anywhere in the short or medium term" Steve Parish

“I don’t think that is their intention, to be honest, but even if it was and it was the worst thing they could be accused of, theirs and the fans’ interests would be completely aligned. The club are doing a lot better, have a better stadium, are at least a permanent fixture in the Premier League if not in some kind of European competition, and will be worth a lot more money. So everybody wins.

“They love going to the games and have built an affinity with the club. I think it is enjoyment for them but, of course, if they see their investment rise in value, that is not a bad thing.”

An agreement is in place for the new investors to contribute “upwards of £50m-£100m” in stadium redevelopment and infrastructure.

The club propose a phased progression beginning with the building of a new main stand behind the current one, adopting an identical strategy to that underway at Liverpool’s ground; Palace are even using KSS Group — the same architects working on Anfield. Croydon Council is being consulted regularly as plans develop.

Parish, who will retain the final say on all major business decisions, believes the American money has accelerated their plans “by about 10 years” and insists he will remain in place for years to come to see through his vision of the club as a major Premier League force.

“We could have got more money for the equity stake if we didn’t include the investment that is required,” he said. “Ninety-five per cent of people that sell a club aren’t concerned about the investment plan going forward and that is why this isn’t a buy-out.

“I could easily sell out, no problem at all. There are plenty of people out there who could just buy the club. But I see it as a job not quite finished.

“I can reassure supporters that I am not going anywhere in the short or medium term. You can say the long term, too, but it depends on what you mean by that — at some point I won’t be here — but I am not looking at any kind of life after Crystal Palace.

“I want to make a positive difference to the club. There’s only one Premier League club south of the river. No club south of the river have ever really stamped their authority on it and been considered a bigger club.

“I’ve supported the club since I was four years old. It has been a rough old ride and I’ve always felt it had unfulfilled potential. But it’s not about me — it is about the football club. I want to turn the lights out the last time I leave, knowing the time, energy and pain everyone has been through has been worth something.”

This move is very much seen as the next step.