English Premier League fans should get used to the idea of foreign club ownership, writes Nick Harris of the Independent, as the global trend of foreign investment makes is almost certain to increase in the EPL over the next 12 months. Sources tell Harris that no less than seven clubs are in advanced discussions with foreign firms over the possibility of a takeover. Liverpool looks to be next in line, as Dubai’s billionaire ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum is eager to buy the Anfield outfit, which could infuse the club with Chelsea-like spending power. Newcastle United has entered into talks with the New Jersey-based Belgravia Group, while others, like Manchester City, Fulham, Reading, Everton and, perhaps most surprising, Tottenham has also expressed interest in selling. Manchester City, meanwhile, has just said it would sell itself for $147 million. An Independent analysis of the EPL’s clubs shows that they have a combined value of nearly $6.5 billion. Manchester United is the most valuable, at $1.8 billion, followed by Arsenal, at $1.1 billion. They are followed by Liverpool, $880 million, Chelsea, Newcastle (both undisclosed) and Tottenham, at an estimated $585 million. John Wardle, David Makin and Mark Bowler, the principal shareholders of Manchester City would happily walk away if an investor came forward who was happy to pay off the club’s $100 million debt. Why foreign ownership? Well for one thing, there aren’t enough billionaires in the UK interested in buying Premiership clubs. For Russian and Middle Eastern oil barons and real estate magnates, an English club could bought as a new hobby. While traditionalists say that poses a danger to the integrity of the league, you have to ask yourself how else could smaller clubs compete with the likes of Man United and Chelsea? They need the money.