[dpak3000]

Man Utd agree £28m fee for Berbatov?

Dimitar Berbatov could be on the brink of joining Manchester United after reports claimed that Tottenham have accepted a £28 million bid for the Bulgarian striker.

After Spurs rebuffed a £20m approach by United over the weekend it appeared and impasse between the two clubs was developing with the White Hart Lane outfit insisting on the full £30m asking price they had placed on Berbatov and United unwilling to increase their bid beyond £25m.

However, the Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that the two clubs have subsequently agreed a compromise with Spurs accepting £2m less than they had been holding out for.

Since joining the club from Bayer Leverkusen two years ago Berbatov has been frequently linked with a move away from Spurs, with United consistently at the top of list of suitors for the 27-year-old who has plundered 27 goals in his time in the Premier League.

It is understood that United will offer £18m upfront with the remainder of the transfer fee payable on depending on the player's appearances and achievements.

ESPNsoccernet - England - Man Utd agree £28m fee for Berbatov?

Looks like SAF is about to get the striker he wanted this off-season. Surely means the end of Saha's days at United. Berbatov has always had good form against United and his game does suit the attacking style United play.

On paper, it'd be a great addition to our forwards but I'd be interested to see the opinion of some of the members of this forum who have been against him coming to Old Trafford.

[GocartMozart]

/me yawns, stretches his arms out and starts posting again

well i'll be the first one on line for his kit, however at 28 mil it's quite steap. I don't think that I would have done the deal if I was in their shoes, purely because of the price. At 18 million base and the rest in appearance payments, it's a little easier to stomach. I'm not surprised with the price considering the drogba deal and the shevchenko deal pretty much set the standard for strikers, I'm just more surpised United bit.

/me wipes his eyes off

What's really annoying is that he turned us down two years ago when he was significantly cheaper. If he wasn't such a stubborn Bulgarian bastard, he'd be sitting at home holding a Champions League medal, banging half a dozen Bulgarian models. Well, not that he doesn't already do that, but at least now at least the tramps get to see him on the tele.

A few things that are of concern. Firstly assuming he plays alongside Rooney, he'll have to play a far more central role. I can definitely see him get fed constantly inthe way Ruud or Ronaldo has been fed with goals. He's the type of player that doesn't miss much when he gets the chance. The question is if he has a new lease on his career and still has the hunger to push to gain the fitness to match the other strikers at United.

The other thing that might have to be concidered is that Tevez and Berbatov might actually make a better combination. In that case you force Rooney back to almost an attaking midfield role, or bench him, which to me doesn't sit right.

FYI: Saha is done

[HunsingerUK]

I'm very happy to hear about this. He is very skilled and with what is it 46 goals in 106 appearance? Thats pretty awesome, and that not with the help of United feeding him the ball!

I feel he could have Ruud like numbers. Which is good. The thing that concerns me a little, is his age. 27 is pretty high for a fairly young team. How old was Ruud when he was shipped away to Real, I can't remember, and for that matter, what was his age when he arrived?

[GocartMozart]

Originally Posted by HunsingerUK

I'm very happy to hear about this. He is very skilled and with what is it 46 goals in 106 appearance? Thats pretty awesome, and that not with the help of United feeding him the ball!

I feel he could have Ruud like numbers. Which is good. The thing that concerns me a little, is his age. 27 is pretty high for a fairly young team. How old was Ruud when he was shipped away to Real, I can't remember, and for that matter, what was his age when he arrived?

There are a google of answers out there for you [, but] I'll give you the answer

he was 25 when he came to us, and left when he was 30.

[dimz]

Well I certainly am not going to complain about having him at OT. I absolutely love watching him play, he's like a poor man's zidane (though at 28 mil, that may not seem the case. ).

Funny you mention Tevez+Berbatov Gocart.....cuz that's what i see as the best combination right now too. I too would be hurt if Roon doesn't get the start anymore, but then again i'd be hurt if Tevez doesn't either. I can't win ............unless we play a 4-3-3 with Tev and Roon behind Berbatov.

Nani can rotate in and out for either one of our mids or one of Rooney or Tevez.

[HunsingerUK]

thanks mate! yeah I know I was in a rush to watch my boy lose the home run derby

gotta say , I'm not too anxious to have either sit, and they will force Fergie to find a way to play them both even w/ Berba up top.

Btw, is there any word on Tevez getting his contract? Around the beginning of the Ronaldo fiasco he mentioned that he wanted a contract now, and was upset for not getting it yet. It would seem to me that SAF and Co. spoke w/ him to ease his fears but has there been any word of this that I might of missed?

[simonhla]

Well I have a few points:

1. I don't think the fee will be anything like the 28M quoted. There is an article I have already seen this morning in the MEN saying thta Utd haven't even lodged a bid yet and consider his valuation to be under 24M. Any likely deal is to involve a substantial up front fee of around 15-18M and then an additional 6-8m for performance related add ons. This seems standard practice now. For that kind of fee I think this will be a good signing considering Utd as a club always have to pay a premium in the market.

2. The only other striker I would prefer to see in Utd colors would be Karim Benzema but I can't see him being released by Lyon for less then 40m. Their president Aulas is a canny operator and has a history of extracting enormous fees for players i.e. 25m for Essien, 23m for Diarra (who is no world beater) and 18m odd for Tiago (who has been a flop elsewhere). I think he even got about 15m for Eric Abidal who has been a disaster for Barcelona (so bad he actually asked to be dropped).

3. Huntelaar has been touted by many but this is a player who is only about half as good as Berbatov. Berbatov really does have it all. He is much quicker than people give him credit for but that is the least important aspect of his game. He has wonderful vision, a grea touch, is a good finisher, great in the air, is a tremendous physical presence and can lead the line or play as a link player. This is exactly the sort of player Fergie loves. He is a hybrid of Dennis Bergkamp and Eric Cantona. It excites me. Huntelaar on the other hand is tremendously one dimensional. He is an old fashioned fox in the box. A watered down version of RVN. I am of the opinion so many Utd fans have hankered after him simply because of the obvious similarities with the legendary red. This is without really ever having watched him play. The added versatility and proven EPL pedigree of Berbatov make it a no brainer.
4. If there is a question mark over the big Bulgarian it is over his age and temperament. On the second issue i think we can agree it is understandable to hanker for a move to a champions league club. At 27 he needs to make that transition sooner rather than later and lets not forget he alreayd played there with Bayer Leverkusen. With regards to his age then this is only relevent to the fee. He has a good few many years left in him not least because his greatest asset is his football brain and his strength. Not relying on pace means that he is not susceptible to the rapid decline many explosive footballers can suffer as they approach their thirties. If I had to cite a modern example of what I mean then I would ask you to look at the cases of Dennis Bergkamp or Teddy Sheringham. Both played their best football in their late twenties and thirties and both were players who relied on guile rather than physical atrributes. And what players they were. Now look at explosive stars such as Henry or Ronaldo (of the buck toothed, chubby Brazilian variety). Both have deterioated dramatically as they lost the ability to consistently produce their stunning changes of pace. Whether this be due to vagarities of time or debilitating injuries is immiterial. L'il mickey Owen is another example.

On this same note it is another reason why i believe Wayne Rooney, aplayer who burst onto the scene with flashes of explosive pace and skill, will actually get much much better with age. Rooney has show tremendous development in the last three years. Arguably much more productive now as a playmaker and provider of goals than a scorer of them. His touch and vision are outstanding and improving all the time. Although Ronaldo has eclipsed him to this point I feel that overall Rooney will end up the better and more durable player. I fear that Ronaldo for all his explosiveness now, is only one serious injury away from being half the player he currently is. It's not hard to see if he lost half a yard of pace he'd been a significantly reduced threat. Time will ensure that is a certainty sooner rather than later.

Utd as a club have some excellent crossers of the ball in Nani (enormously under rated in that department....he is potentially in Beckham class of wide deliver according to the soon to be sorely missed Carlos Quieroz), Fletcher (another under rated and fabulous player), Hargreaves and Rooney. Having berbatov to add that ariel threat (and Ronaldo if he is still around) will give Utd an added dimension.

The last time we won the European cup we added only Quinton Fortune, Mikael SIlvestre, Mark Bosnich and Massimo Taibi to our squad in the next few months. That squad had already peaked. This current squad has, in my opinion, won the old Big Ears before their time and adding Berbatov to the mix is the perfect evolution of an already fantastic but not perfect squad.

Now I only see three remaining priorities for next season.

1. Finding a replacement for CQ. A hard task and not one that should be rushed into. Yet I fear for the legion of foreign (and mainly Portuguese speaking) stars and their contentment in the club without a trusted buffer between themselves and manager. I would be very interested to see Michael Laudrup considered for the post. He did a fantastic job in the last two years in management and is currently available. Has extensive European experience, is respected, is highly regarded on the continent and is multi-lingual. Head and shoulders above anyone else I have seen mentioned. Yet someting tells me Fergie has a surprise up his sleeve. Sad as it is, I don't think McClair or Phelan have the credentials to step up. And as for the rumors surrounding Poyet......the less said the better.
2. Resolve the Ronaldo issue. This will be much harder with CQ having left but he needs to be forced to tow the line. The club can't pander to him too much, regardless of how much we might want him to stay (in footballing terms, not personal ones) because it sends a bad message to the dressing room. The saga took a twist today when Chelsea bid 48M for Robinho. Madrid will not respond to that until they have signed CR7. So not only would MUFC be losing their most potent player but they would also be facilitating the strengthening of their deadliest rivals. Clearly this cannot be allowed to happen. CR7 should only be allowed to leave in a cash plus Robinho type deal that sees the brazilian wing wizard come to us. How realistic is that? only time will tell.
3. Sign additional defensive cover. If Silvestre leaves (I actually think we should keep him as he is happy to be a squad player and is more than a competent deputy at home and in Europe, plus is flexible being able to play at left back and in the middle) then we will be desperately short of cover now Pique has also gone. As I can see it out first team defenders would be: Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, O'shea, Neville, Evans and Simpson (?). That's paper thin. One or two injuries to first teamers and we are in trouble. A decent quality center half is a required signing.

Perhaps one addendum......sign Tevez up to a long term deal? I think the bet is still to come from Carlitos. After a proper summer's rest for the first time ever, year settling in, boosted confidence and proper depth up front meaning he doesn't have to play in nearly every game and I think he will be even better this year. Plus having the perfect foil in Berbatov is going to enable us to truely see the best of both he and Rooney.

Apologies for the epic length of this post.

[funkdoctorspock]

simonhla,

Well thought out post. I personally couldn't care less about the length of it as long as it makes sense and is on point.

With that said, I'm going to respectively disagree on some of the points you raised.

1. Berbatov's age and temperment: For the amount of money which is rumoured to be spent on him [18 up front + 6-8 in addons] I firmly believe that you must be bringing in a world class striker for that price and especially for that age.

Make no mistake, that United are bringing in someone who will get a good number of starts. Especially for the price that is being rumoured. Rooney, Tevez and whoever comes in will be balancing starts.

To say Berbatov is world class is a stretch. Yes, he's extremely talented and does all the things you listed well, but there are 1-2 strikers in the market that are available that do the exact same thing, but at a world class level.

1. Samuel Eto'o - Berbatov is not fit enough to lace this mans boots. In every department Eto'o is simply a class or ten above him. And he's available for the same numbers.

And just so we are clear, let me provide some stats of the two over 4 years:

Berbatov:

2007-08 - Games 44(6), 26 goals, 14 assists, 81 shots on goal
2006-07 - Games 44(6), 23 goals, 15 assists, 76 shots on goal
2005-06 - Games 38, 26 goals, assists, [missing from stats site]
2004-05 - Games 53, 29 goals, assists, [missing from stats site]

Eto'o:

2007-08 - Games 26(1), 18 goals, 3 assists, 39 shots on goal
2006-07 - Games 23(2), 13 goals, 11 assists, 25 shots on goal
2005-06 - Games 46 , 32 goals, 9 assists, 60 shots on goal
2004-05 - Games 49 , 29 goals, assists, [missing from stats site]

Just realized after that I can't find a site statistics site with player stats from 05-06 and earlier.

These numbers should do though. The point is, that money for performance just isn't being met with what United are rumoured to be paying for Berbatov. Better options out there. The injury argument should really be a mute point, because he has come back to score goals and contribute at a consistent rate every year.

As for Berbatov's temperment. To me its a massive issue. Consider this. Why was Ruud shipped out of United? Everyone points to the incident with Cristiano Ronaldo, but it wasn't. It was his behaviour when Louis Saha had his great run of matches leading up to the Carling Cup final against Wigan along with his half ass determination to win balls. Ruud was actively destroying team unity/chemistry:

1. £10m price tag attached to Van Nistelrooy | Football | The Guardian
2. Premier League - Ruud blames United for World Cup woe - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
3. ESPNsoccernet - England - Ruud not to play him?

Berbatov has similar temperment issues. Where Jol subbed him and he stormed off the field and refused to speak to Jol. When players do not give him the ball when he asks for it, he moans and complains. Throwing then manager under the bus which was another reason for Jol being shown the door. Not fighting to win balls.

He has an attitude problem. It's as clear as day.

For the first time in a long time, United's setup has been completely in sync. No complaints about coming off the bench. No issues about players fighting for a starting spot. Everyone is on the same page and it was a reason why United were so successful last season.

What do think happens if Berbatov comes into the setup and starts bitching because he doesn't get enough matches or is continuously demanding the ball?

I've had the weekend and yesterday to digest that United really are going to go through with this. I'm personally not pleased, but we'll have to wait and see what Berbatov brings to the table if this transfer goes through. I could very well be eating crow. Or one of those dirty seagulls from Aberdeen.

[GocartMozart]

Originally Posted by funkdoctorspock

Berbatov:

2007-08 - Games 44(6), 26 goals, 14 assists, 81 shots on goal
2006-07 - Games 44(6), 23 goals, 15 assists, 76 shots on goal
2005-06 - Games 38, 26 goals, assists, [missing from stats site]
2004-05 - Games 53, 29 goals, assists, [missing from stats site]

Eto'o:

2007-08 - Games 26(1), 18 goals, 3 assists, 39 shots on goal
2006-07 - Games 23(2), 13 goals, 11 assists, 25 shots on goal
2005-06 - Games 46 , 32 goals, 9 assists, 60 shots on goal
2004-05 - Games 49 , 29 goals, assists, [missing from stats site]

Just realized after that I can't find a site statistics site with player stats from 05-06 and earlier.

These numbers should do though.

well i may have missed the point, but if you're arguing that eto'o is world class and Dimitar is not, then your numbers don't support that claim. Berbatov's numbers look pretty god damn good, especially considering the side Ero'o has been in the last four years, and that Dimitar was on a subpar Leverkusen and Spurs teams. Now if your argument is that Eto'o can come cheaper, I don't think you really can make that argument without a bid. Clearly the papers aren't even willing to link us.

As for personality traits. All I know is that you get a player who is hungry, and wants to be in a red shirt scoring goals. Neither can you say that Eto'o would be less tempermental coming off the bench as often.

[Dirtycheat]

why didnt the bugger wait a week or so till we sold ruud rather than us having to pay 15+ mil more?

any how, im in 2 minds about this.

On one hand, he does have a pretty good finish and a good touch but I think Dimz's comparison to zidane is way too flattering for berbatov.

The thing is, he has an attitude. He isnt the only footballer with an attitude but he does seem to have a similar personality to Anelka. Having said that, fergie is hard.

Im not sure if he is strong enough too, i think he lacks a bit of power in pretty much everything including headers but he makes up for it with placement i suppose.

He is experienced, and as i said before, i think manchester united need an experienced center forward.

Either way, im not going to make the same mistake as i did this time last year when i said Tevez and Rooney wont work in the same way that lampard and ballack doesnt, because they are too similar.


Fergie has been doing this for 20+ years now and has been in the business for most of his life. I think he will probably have a fairly good idea on who will fit in the squad and will help us the most. If he thinks its berbatov then fine, i trust him.


28 mil for a 27 year old..... I dont think so.