'No one is going to cough up significant amounts without a large degree of control'

While nothing material has yet happened, it is reasonable to believe that some serious talks are ongoing, given that Attanasio and his team were in full view at the Spurs game, which is hardly commensurate with keeping any negotiations under wraps.

However, given that one of the club’s commitments in its Memorandum of Understanding with the Trust is to “discuss any meaningful potential ownership changes in advance of such changes happening” we would expect to be made aware of anything major changing at Carrow Road and I can confirm that this hasn’t happened.

Realistically, despite the usual “in the know” reports on social media it’s fair to say that a very firm lid has been kept on what exactly is under discussion and there is a huge amount of guesswork, some of it perhaps more informed than the rest, going on.

Like the vast majority of fans, I am excited by the possibility of more investment in the club, but I’ve spent too many years in business to understand that no one is going to cough up significant amounts without a large degree of control, even if that may not be provided immediately.

Given the way in which other American involvements in English clubs have been structured, Leeds United being a prime example, that would seem to give some credence to the suggestion that Attanasio might be looking to dip a toe in the water with a small shareholding with a view to getting more deeply involved at a later date.

It's human nature that we all want to know what’s going on, but social media has the effect of both magnifying that desire while offering ample scope for false rumour to spread, so while it’s frustrating for those of us watching on, the reality is that we have to be patient until there is some verifiable concrete news.

I can fully understand why there is a news blackout while talks are going on, but there do seem to be grounds for excitement. However, until either party breaks their silence, we will remain in the realm of rumour and guesswork.

Peter Cullum - once linked with investment into Norwich City (Image: Archant)

To some extent we’ve been here before, particularly when Peter Cullum was reported to be in talks with the club, although subsequent events showed that their failure was a bullet dodged, and also when Tony Fernandes was photographed walking around Carrow Road wearing a City scarf before buying QPR, but this feels rather different.

Certainly, the feedback that the Trust has had from a number of contacts in the States is that Attanasio has a very fan-orientated outlook, which would seem to be a good fit with City’s community club image, and it gives the Trust a degree of reassurance as fan engagement at City has developed significantly in recent years and we would want to see that continue.

However, we have also noted that American owners taking over English clubs (and, of course, there is currently no suggestion that a takeover either now or in the future is on the table) tend to take them into private companies, which would mean that the fans would no longer have a growing shareholding in Norwich City as is currently the case.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that healthy fan engagement would become a thing of the past, as has been proven by the success of Trusts such as Spirit of Shankly at Liverpool, which is owned by a private company.

Whatever happens at City in the next few weeks some people will approve and some will complain, but after such an abject season I suspect that any forward momentum will be welcomed by most fans.