Norwich City minority shareholder Mark Attanasio has discussed the possibility of increasing his stake in the club.

Attanasio purchased shares from Michael Foulger and other minority shareholders before being appointed to the Canaries' board of directors in September.

The American, who owns Major League Baseball franchise the Milwaukee Brewers, also purchased 'C preference' shares from the club in the effective form of a £10million loan, which he can convert into either 10pc of ordinary shares or a £17million repayment either in seven years or upon certain trigger events.

Speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk about the deal to involve him in the club, Attanasio said: "It really was a dialogue, it wasn't like a negotiation. It was: 'What can we bring? What does the club need?', and a financial structure that was comfortable on both sides, whether it could go no further than this or could get much deeper.

"We're interested in getting more involved, but it's about what Delia and Michael want, what we want, and so far we're off to a really good start."

The Pink Un: Norfolk businessman Michael Foulger (right) sold his Norwich City shares to Mark Attanasio.Norfolk businessman Michael Foulger (right) sold his Norwich City shares to Mark Attanasio. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

The 64-year-old arrived in Norfolk from Los Angeles to attend City's AGM last Thursday, and he also spent time at Norwich's Colney training base before returning to the States.

"We got here a couple of days ago," he said, speaking ahead of Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Middlesbrough. "The only thing I haven't seen this trip was The Nest. I saw it last time and my wife Debbie is there this morning.

"We watch everything on stream. One of the matches right after they announced me was very close at the end, and you (Radio Norfolk) said 'Mark Attanasio, if you're watching, now you know what you're getting yourself into', and I was worn out because of the stress! So I was learning what I got myself into. I wanted to call and say 'you're not kidding'.

"I don't want to miss a second of it. I watch on my tablet. We have a hook up with our family where me and my sons and another colleague comment as we do in baseball. It's stressful, I will say! Nothing prepared me for the stress. Every minute you're on the edge of your seat."

The Pink Un: Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones remain a big part of the Canaries' future, despite Attanasio's involvement.Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones remain a big part of the Canaries' future, despite Attanasio's involvement. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Attanasio confirmed that his investment in the national sport had been a long time coming, but that the Norfolk club stood out as the right fit.

"We've looked at English football clubs for ten years," he continued. "The meeting with the manager here, which was supposed to be a quick introductory one-hour video chat, was two full hours with me and my son Mike and (Brewers advisory board member) Eric Siegel.

"It was an immediate connectivity on what this was about, and I had deja vu of my first approaches in Milwaukee. It all just felt right, and so many similarities with the type of community here and the type of infrastructure they have, which is world class. It all matched up.

"We're passionate about sports. We've spent 18 seasons now managing a sports organisation, so we've learned a lot and we've had some success. There's a huge global interest in English football, and it really makes a difference that you can get up on Saturday mornings and see it at 7am and feel like you're part of it."

Norwich fans are hoping Attanasio's investment can take the club to another level, having struggled to establish themselves as a Premier League club. The Brown University graduate believes the potential was ther efor success even prior to his shareholding, however.

The Pink Un: The Attanasio family at City's 2-1 Championship defeat to Middlesbrough.The Attanasio family at City's 2-1 Championship defeat to Middlesbrough. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

"With or without our help, there's been a lot of success here," he said. "I know it doesn't feel that way. When I bought the Brewers, we had had 26 seasons before we got to the play-offs, and 23 of those were without me. We had had 12 losing seasons in a row.

"When you're outside Norwich City looking in, there's been a lot of success here. This team can get to the Premier League, maybe it goes back, gets to the Premier League, goes back. I talk to owners of other clubs that just hope they can get to where we are here. Of course, this isn't what everybody wants here, but it's a really good base to work off of.

"For sure, we'd like to be part of a perennial Premier League club. It's fun to play the big boys all the time, and once you start playing them you can beat them.

"Milwaukee is the smallest Major League city, and we don't act like we're the smallest, we don't perform like we're the smallest. We missed the play-offs this year, which was really painful. The four seasons before, there were only five teams out of 30 that were in the play-offs four consecutive years, we were one. We were the only smaller market that was.

"There's an old children's book, The Little Engine That Could. You've got everything here that you need. You've got a forward looking management, you've got great infrastructure, not only at Carrow Road but the practice pitches and great community involvement with the nest. They have technology that we don't have.

"Other clubs don't have that. They have to build a stadium. The practice fields are a great recruiting thing to bring players here; you want to be part of that."

The Pink Un: Attanasio was presented to Norwich fans at Carrow Road on Saturday.Attanasio was presented to Norwich fans at Carrow Road on Saturday. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

With plenty clearly to gain for the Canaries, many have questioned what's in it for Attanasio. As he discussed, he and his team are already reaping the benefits.

He said: "We're already having analytical (meetings) with the group here, you're doing things with player development that we can learn from, so it'll be a two-way street there. It's already good here and it can get better.

"Everybody's really excited about this. All our executives in both business and baseball are engaged in this. When the club comes to the United States for warm weather training in Tampa, they're sending a contingent of 12 executives, both business and football, to our baseball park to integrate and learn from each other. Everybody's very excited.

"The team is a good team, I know we want to be in first place, but we're not in 24th place, and you have to remember that."