Source: Jets owner Johnson agrees Palace deal

New York Jets proprietor Woody Johnson has agreed a £190 cardinal woody ($254m) to bargain a 43% involvement successful Premier League squad Crystal Palace from American businessman John Textor, a root has told ESPN.

The statement is taxable to Premier League support and Johnson -- a erstwhile United States ambassador to the United Kingdom -- passing the league's Owners and Directors' Test, different known astatine the Fit and Proper Persons Test.

The Premier League declined to remark erstwhile approached by ESPN.

A root acquainted with the woody has told ESPN that confirmation of the statement betwixt Johnson and Textor is apt to travel Monday morning.

Should Johnson's statement with Textor beryllium approved by the Premier League, it would pave the mode for Palace, the 2024-25 FA Cup winners, to play successful adjacent season's UEFA Europa League and extremity the imaginable of the nine breaching multi-club ownership rules owed to Textor's Eagle Football Holdings Group besides having a controlling involvement successful French nine Lyon.

Palace person yet to beryllium cleared to play successful the Europa League owed to ongoing negotiations betwixt the nine and UEFA.

ESPN has contacted UEFA for comment.

Although Textor has nary day-to-day engagement successful the moving of Palace, who are controlled by president Steve Parish and US investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer, UEFA rules forestall 2 teams with the aforesaid ownership playing successful the aforesaid contention unless shares successful 1 nine are placed into a unsighted trust.

Textor failed to spot his Palace oregon Lyon shares successful specified a conveyance by the UEFA deadline of March 1 -- much than 2 months earlier Palace secured Europa League qualification by winning the FA Cup.

However, arsenic reported by ESPN earlier this month, Textor has been attempting to offload his Palace shares, with Johnson emerging arsenic the starring campaigner to bargain his stake.

Johnson, 78, served arsenic the US ambassador to the UK betwixt 2017 and 2021and helium made a failed bid to bargain Chelsea aft erstwhile owner, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, was sanctioned by the UK authorities successful 2022 pursuing Russia's penetration of Ukraine.

Johnson has antecedently declared himself to beryllium a Chelsea supporter.