AHEAD OF THE GAME: Eagles could have a new majority owner… and Boris Johnson’s gaffe angers FA

Crystal Palace could have new majority ownership for the first time since Steve Parish’s group bought the club in 2010 as a by-product of the Chelsea takeover battle.

Palace’s most recent investor, American technology magnate John Textor, is monitoring the Chelsea sale closely with a view to purchasing the stakes of fellow Palace shareholders Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who would be required to divest of their shares at Selhurst Park immediately should the consortium they are funding succeed in buying Chelsea. 

Textor had previously considered an outright bid for Palace before paying £87.5million for 18 per cent of the club last year. Purchasing Harris and Blitzer’s shares would take him to 54 per cent and overall control.

The 56-year-old chairman of American streaming service Fubo TV has maintained a low profile but exercised considerable influence behind the scenes since buying into Palace last summer, with his expertise in new technologies and virtual reality seen as crucial to the club’s future growth. 

Textor (left) previously considered an outright bid before paying £87.5million for 18 per cent of Crystal Palace last year – he could buy out Josh Harris and David Blitzer’s shares in the club

BT Sport boss Simon Green is leaving at the end of the month after nearly 10 years in the job. The head of sport, who has masterminded the growth of the channel’s Premier League and Champions League coverage as well as leading their expansion into cricket and rugby, broke the shock news in an email to staff without offering an explanation. 

BT staff are concerned that the surprise departure of Green could signal the start of some major cost-cutting following confirmation last month of the merger with media giant Discovery, who also own the Eurosport network. 

BORIS GAFFE ADDS TO FA ANGER

The FA’s relationship with the Government has become strained during a difficult week that climaxed with Boris Johnson’s gaffe on Thursday that Ukraine should stage Euro 2028 — just hours after the UK and Ireland had officially declared their intention to jointly bid for the tournament. 

Earlier in the week the FA asked the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to issue a clarification — after DCMS select committee chair Julian Knight MP accused Wembley chiefs of ‘excluding’ Chelsea fans from attending matches following Roman Abramovich’s sanctioning — but the Government refused. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s gaffe over who is hosting Euro 2028 has added to the FA’s anger

More remarkable than Knight’s basic factual error — the Government dictate the terms of the special licence Chelsea are operating under, not the FA — was the fact that his erroneous quotes, released by the department, came from a parliamentary session the previous week so were not even up to date.

BIG SIX FUEL FOR FIVE SUB ROW 

The Premier League’s Big Six have seized upon a report published by international insurance broker Howden this week into the financial cost of injuries to clubs in the top five European leagues to make a renewed push for a permanent change to five substitutions next season.

The Men’s European Football Injury Index estimated the cost of injuries to Premier League clubs in the first half of this season as the highest in Europe at £89.2 million due to a combined total of 659 player injuries, with their calculations based on multiplying each injured player’s daily wages by the number of days they were unavailable. 

Chelsea will feel vindicated after pushing hard to introduce five subs as they have suffered more injuries than any other Premier League club this season, with their total of 55 the second-highest in Europe after Bayern Munich’s 60. 

Increasing the number of subs has divided top-flight clubs since the temporary switch to five during Project Restart following the first Covid lockdown two years ago.

As Sportsmail revealed earlier this month, the Premier League are planning another vote on the issue at their AGM in June.

Tottenham are in talks with MLS club Orlando City about formalising a player exchange arrangement at youth team level after Brandon Austin’s loan to the American side last season

Tottenham are in talks with MLS club Orlando City about formalising a player exchange arrangement at youth team level. 

Representatives of Orlando’s owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, who also own NFL franchise Minnesota Vikings, were at last weekend’s Premier League game against West Ham. Tottenham are also keen to tap into their expertise in the American market as they seek to promote the club across the pond. 

Tottenham goalkeeper Brandon Austin spent last season on loan at Orlando, making five appearances in the MLS, and more of the club’s players are set to be sent to America to gain first-team experience in the future.