FORMER Blackburn Rovers favourite Dave Whelan has expressed his concern over the invasion of foreign investors in the Premier League.

The outspoken owner of Wigan Athletic is dismayed by the number of top-flight clubs falling into the hands of overseas groups.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham, Fulham and Portsmouth already have foreign owners, and another four - Manchester City, Birmingham, Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers - could soon follow suit if proposed takeover deals go through this summer.

However, Whelan insists the new breed of foreign owners are only in it for one thing - the money.

Launching a typically blunt attack, the former boss of the JJB Sports empire said: "Why are foreign investors coming in to the Premier League? There's only one reason - and that's money.

"It's not because they love football and a lot of them don't even know anything about it.

"There's no-one trying to buy Wigan, Reading, Sheffield United or Watford."

Whelan's concerns appear to be shared by Sports Minister Richard Cabourn, who met with Brian Barwick from the FA, Richard Scudamore and Dave Richards from the Premier League, and Football League chief Lord Mawhinney on Tuesday for a discussion on the influx of foreign investors.

Cabourn said: "We have to make sure the Premier League does not turn into a billionaires' playground.

"I think we have got to make sure the grassroots, the communities from which those clubs came, are respected."

With football being the only universal team sport in the world, foreign investors are attracted by the idea of owning a long established Premiership club with a global fan base.

Undoubtedly, the likely financial returns also appeal, too, and the new breed of owners seem determined to explore the marketing opportunities that their predecessors were either unwilling or unable to exploit.

The new television rights deal, which will see the Premiership televised around the world, with more games shown live or on a delayed basis at the weekend, will allow breakthroughs in markets where there has previously been less interest or less penetration.

Some financial advisers are now predicting the vast majority of the 20 Premiership clubs will be under new ownership by the end of 2007.

Manchester City are on the verge of being taken over by the former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and Birmingham City's owners have agreed to sell a 30 per cent stake to Hong Kong tycoon Carson Yeung.

Next on the list could be Blackburn Rovers as majority shareholders, the Walker Trustees, are actively seeking to sell their 99.8 stake in the club.

Daniel Williams is spearheading a US-based consortium interested in buying Rovers, and talks between the two parties have already taken place.

Williams is a boyhood Blackburn fan and the main partner in his consortium is Plainfield Asset Management, a company which has assets of $5 billion under management.