During the attempted launch of the European Super League (ESL) in 2021 three American Premier League club owners - Manchester United's Joel Glazer, Liverpool's John W Henry and Arsenal's Stan Kroenke - formed part of the ill-fated organisation's leadership group.

Having sparked a crisis and been widely condemned by fans and other clubs, the breakaway collapsed within days.

But the proposal that the founding clubs would have been guaranteed entry to the ESL without needing to qualify each year was a clear move in the direction of American pro sports, which operate in closed, franchise-based systems without promotion or relegation.

That sense of a culture clash with the traditions of the English football pyramid was only reinforced in 2022 when Chelsea's American co-owner Todd Boehly expressed his hope that the Premier League took "a little bit of a lesson from American sports" in a bid to boost broadcast revenue.

His controversial proposals included a 'north versus south All-Star match' and relegation play-offs.

That prompted former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville to say that US investment into English football was "a clear and present danger to the pyramid and fabric of the game. They just don't get it."

Niall Couper, chief executive of football campaign group Fair Game, told BBC Sport: "The growing number of American owners in the Premier League is concerning. Many arrive with a franchise mentality - focused on profit, closed leagues and commercialisation at the expense of community and tradition.

"The tipping point could well come when two thirds of Premier League clubs are owned by Americans - a milestone that we are moving rapidly towards. The last hope for fans and the wider football pyramid is the incoming independent football regulator."

Amid understandable concerns over the impact their approach may have on ticket prices, stadium naming-rights deals and the possible scrapping of promotion and relegation, do US owners deserve more credit?

Since taking over Liverpool in 2010, Fenway Sports Group's investment in players and infrastructure, financial management and approach to recruitment has helped restore the club to their former status.

In 2022 Leeds' American chairman Paraag Marathe - the president of the club's owners 49ers Enterprises - insisted fears over American investors were unfounded, telling BBC Sport that because English football is "special, unique and rare", club owners needed to "protect it". "If it isn't broken, don't try to fix it," he said.

Some have also suggested that English football could learn from the salary caps, pre-season drafts and stronger player union representation that have helped to make US leagues more competitive, unpredictable and sustainable.

Asked whether she was concerned by the number of US-run clubs in the Premier League, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told BBC Sport: "My experience of dealing with Premier League owners is that they do have different views. They can be very robust about coming forward with those views, but they also work together in the interest of football as a whole.

"So I'm relaxed about the fact we've got owners from all around the world. It shows that the Premier League really is a crown jewel in terms of what we're able to export to the world and lead the world in football.

"What I want to ensure is that the Premier League is built on those firm foundations so clubs all the way through from the grass roots to the Premier League can continue to thrive."

With major US sports leagues regularly playing regular-season games overseas, it would be no surprise if American owners of Premier League clubs pushed to do the same, especially given some of them also own US franchises in the NFL, NBA and MLB.

Last year Liverpool chairman Tom Werner told the Financial Times that he hoped to see Premier League games played in New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Riyadh and Rio de Janeiro, raising fears among some fans of an attempted resurrection of the '39th game' concept that was considered and then abandoned by the Premier League in 2008 after a fan backlash.

"The recent revival of ideas like a 39th game played abroad is a stark warning sign," said Couper.

"It shows a willingness to prioritise global markets over local fans and to turn our national game into a global entertainment brand rather than a sacred institution."

Last year Premier League chief executive Richard Masters told BBC Sport there were no plans to reintroduce such an idea, and Bournemouth's American owner Bill Foley said he does not support staging league matches abroad.

However, Spain's La Liga has said it is hopeful of staging games in the US next season, and, with Fifa set to change its rules to allow such a move, some remain concerned.

The UK government was reportedly considering tabling an amendment to the Football Governance Bill in order to prevent any possibility of staging league matches overseas, but it has chosen not to do so.

There have also been reports that US-run Premier League clubs have been secretly pushing to scrap the Saturday 3pm TV blackout which prevents games being screened live domestically, in order to maximise media rights revenues.

The Premier League recently said the current arrangement is in place until the end of the 2029 season, and that it supports the blackout as a means of protecting grassroots participation and attendance across all leagues. "Anything beyond that is speculation at this stage," it said.

Last year all but one of the US-owned Premier League clubs voted to approve changes to rules governing commercial deals, despite opposition from Manchester City and Newcastle United.

That may have reinforced fears that if the time comes when 14 of the clubs are controlled from the US, they could vote as a bloc to force changes through.

However, insiders guard against an assumption that just because a group of owners are from one country, they will collude to 'Americanise' English football.

They make the point that within the group of US-owned clubs, there are important differences, with some controlled by private equity, while others are run by an individual, family, business or consortium.

Indeed, the Premier League has rarely seemed as divided as it has in recent times.