Several North American celebrities have invested in English Football League and Premier League clubs in recent years, with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s ownership of Wrexham the most notable.

NFL legend and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady became a minority owner of Birmingham City last season and former NFL defensive end JJ Watt became a shareholder at Burnley in May 2023, while actor and producer Michael B Jordan invested in Bournemouth at the end of 2022.

American golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook and actor Will Ferrell are also minority stakeholders in Leeds United.

Palios said the American marketplace is an area the club want to “latch on to”.

“When I was at the FA I thought at some stage they’re going to catch on to soccer, which I’d never normally say, and there are 85 million people in the US who apparently watch English football and 45 million of them don’t have a club,” he continued.

“What has happened with Wrexham is people have seen the value of lower league clubs. That’s a marketplace we want to latch on to.

“If you look at the increased coverage that the EFL is getting in the US because of the new TV deals and also the World Cup is coming to the US and that the MLS clubs are ridiculously expensive… You can see there is a market there and we’re ready to capitalise on that.”

Since Palios and his wife bought a controlling interest in Tranmere from former owner Peter Johnson, the club have been relegated to the National League but bounced back to win promotion through to League One.

However, they were relegated back to League Two during the Covid-interrupted 2019-20 season and have remained there since, sitting 16th so far this season.

Palios, 71, made more than 280 appearances in two spells with Tranmere during his playing career.