First the Glazer family bought Manchester United. Then fellow US investors snapped up English football clubs when Randy Lerner, owner of the Cleveland Browns, bought Aston Villa, and Tom Hicks and George Gillett acquired Liverpool.

Now another American has his eye on the English national game, although Michael Eisner does not have any ambitions to own a club. Instead his interest is in Topps, the trading card and confectionery company he bought two months ago, which has had a licensing deal with the Premier League for 13 years.