This article forms part of our The Ones That Got Away feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern take a look back at players linked with moves in the past, and see how they would have made an impact had they signed for the interested side.

There has been lots of talk in recent weeks about a takeover at Selhurst Park, with reports suggesting that Joshua Harris and David Blitzer are wanting to sell their stakes in the club.

According to The Sun, the Eagles could even if be taken over by Christmas in a £215m takeover from a 'mystery consortium'.

With the club now in their seventh consecutive season in the English top-tier - a feat they have never achieved in their history before - it can be easy to forget the state they were in just a decade ago when it looked on the brink of extinction while just about hanging onto their Championship survival.

At a time when they were in administration and Simon Jordan had just passed the club over to the administrators, they were desperate for funds. It was then that rap star Sean Combs - otherwise known as Puff Daddy or P Diddy - was considering making a move for the south London club.

According to a report from the Daily Mail (via News Shopper), one of his spokesmen confirmed that he was interested in March 2010.

Allegedly, the name of Crystal Palace made it stand out for him.

A source told The Sun: 'Diddy was in London meeting football fixers a couple of weeks ago. The finance is in place, he's just deciding who he thinks he'll make a bid for.

'Portsmouth were mentioned but he thought Palace were a better idea. He could cover their debt and bankroll a return to the Premier League. He liked the name as well.'

Unfortunately for a lot of neutrals, it just wasn't meant to be. The Eagles would have taken anyone at that turbulent point, but a rap star taking over would have blown Simon Jordan out of the water for an interesting owner.

After the club had been taken over by the CPFC 2010 consortium in June 2010, the rap star came out and admitted personally that he seriously considered buying the club.

He said to the BBC: "There was somebody that had looked at it but the business of it just wasn't the right business move for me at the time.

I'm always looking into different business ventures and it's definitely one of my dreams one day to be a part of a sports franchise, especially a football team," he said.

"If the right situation comes my way and it's appealing and we can make the right splash and most importantly build the right team and win... I'm into winning and if it's the right situation then I'm open to it."

At the time, P Diddy was reportedly earning £21m a year, according to Forbes magazine (via BBC), which must have sounded pretty appetising. However, given how the past decade has gone, they are likely to be pretty happy with how it all turned out.

While there will always be fans who criticise the ownership and the decisions they make, it must be remembered where the club was a decade ago and where the club may be in 10 years. There may not have been moves on the stadium and academy yet, but there have been plans announced for both, and if Parish can pull that off, that legacy could go beyond the one he has already built with the club's most-ever successful spell.

What would have happened had this come off? Join the discussion by commenting below...