Delia Smith has admitted she won’t give up her 40pc share of the club if Mark Attanasio’s involvement at Carrow Road proves not to be a “good match”. ​

The American is awaiting ratification on a purchase of new shares that will see him become joint minority shareholder of the Canaries, sharing 40pc of the club with Smith and Michael Wynn Jones.

Shareholders voted in favour of continuing that process earlier this month, and it is now with the EFL become confirmation can arrive.

The steps may be cautious, but Smith has conceded that, owing to their age, now is the time to begin the process that sees them take a step back from overall control at Carrow Road. However, that also hinges on a successful relationship with Attanasio and his group.

“Mark Attanasio has a baseball club called Milwaukee Brewers and it is more or less the same story of Norwich. He took it over, brought it up and now they are right at the top,” she told the High Performance podcast.

“We did a lot of homework and due diligence. They are community people and believe in community. It seems like a good match, it really does, but I can tell you now, if it isn’t - we’re not going to give up our 40pc.”

Asked if there was a sadness at no longer being City’s majority shareholder once the acquisition is ratified, Smith said: “Definitely. But it doesn’t matter because we are only there for the good of the football club.

“We feel very strongly that we’ve got to give it up now because of our age. We have to. Therefore it’s our passion now to get the right people. So far, it looks good.”

Smith has confirmed that City’s financial situation made an increased shareholding for Attanasio’s group a necessity. The American became involved with City back in 2022.

The Pink Un: Mark Attanasio is awaiting ratification on the purchase of new shares in Norwich City.Mark Attanasio is awaiting ratification on the purchase of new shares in Norwich City. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

“It started with one of our board directors, Michael Foulger, wanting to sell his shares so we found a broker to see who would be interested in investing in a football club,” Smith said.

“They found four different Americans. We decided on one. He bought the shares and put money into the club. We had an agreement where he put a time limit on it and said in seven years time, ‘you sell me the club or give me the money back’. That seemed like a pretty good deal.

“After Covid, we got into debt again and not back to square one but pretty hard. In order to help the debt, we released some of our shares. We have 40pc and he has 40pc.”