Mohamed Fayed close to selling Fulham to American billionaire who is ready to offer up to £200m Their owner refused to be drawn on that but he did describe London as "the missing piece" for his National Football League team, who do not sell out all their home games in northern Florida. Buying Fulham would doubtless help him to promote both sports brands alongside each other for their mutual benefit. Negotiations with Fayed have been conducted amid great secrecy and are said to involve renowned football ­financier Keith Harris. The former investment banker has specialised in finding overseas ­buyers, including Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, Randy Lerner at Aston Villa, Eggert Magnusson at West Ham United and Thaksin Shinawatra at Manchester City. The colourful and outspoken Fayed bought Fulham for £6.25 million in 1997, bankrolling the London club's rise from the third tier of English football to the top flight and overseeing arguably the most successful period in their history. Fulham are one of the Premier League's longest-serving teams, with this season their 13th in succession in the competition. They reached the Europa League final in May 2010, arguably the club's biggest achievement since it was formed in 1879. Fayed has recently reined in his spending on players at Fulham, with all three of their summer signings so far - Maarten Stekelenburg, Derek Boateng and Fernando Amorebieta - arriving on free transfers. He has continued to invest in ­redeveloping Craven Cottage, which will have a capacity of 30,000 once work on a new Riverside Stand is completed. The 84-year-old has, however, other­wise been converting his assets into cash and has spent less and less time in the UK of late. And, when he does, he prefers to stay at his Scottish estate. Selling to Khan would lead to almost a third of the Premier League's clubs being owned by Americans, with Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Villa and Sunderland all already having been placed in US hands. Khan is already acquainted with Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke, having lost out to the 65‑year-old in the battle for control of the St Louis Rams in 2010. Khan could not be reached for comment on the proposed takeover last night while a Fulham spokes­person declined to make any comment.