Dimitar Berbatov will complete an acrimonious move from
Tottenham Hotspur to Manchester United within days after the
Barclays Premier League champions finally reopened formal
negotiations over the weekend. United made a second formal bid in
the region of £25 million on Saturday and a deal appears imminent
after Juande Ramos, the Tottenham head coach, declared that the
saga must be resolved.
“It can’t last longer than a week because the transfer window
closes next week [on September 1],” Ramos said. “I hope the
situation is resolved before then, but there is a deadline.”
No direct discussions had taken place for several weeks, with
the clubs in contact only through intermediaries since an opening
£20.5 million bid was rejected by Tottenham last month. United made
a second formal bid on Saturday and, although Daniel Levy, the
North London club’s executive chairman, had been holding out for a
£30 million fee, an agreement is thought to be imminent. Berbatov’s
absence from the squad on Saturday may impact on the fee Tottenham
receive, given that the club seem to have conceded publicly that he
cannot stay at White Hart Lane.
Jonathan Woodgate, the central defender, refused to blame the
transfer saga for Tottenham’s poor start to the season and
insisted: “A football club is bigger than one player. It’s the
manager’s decision and whatever he does, we’ll back him to the
hilt. He makes the decision and we’re not going to ask questions.
There’s been no disruption to me. He [Berbatov] comes in and does
his work but if the manager says he’s not ready, he makes the
decision. It goes on in football. Man United have come in with a
bid but it’s up to the chairman to do the right thing for the
football club.”
Roy Keane, whose Sunderland side inflicted a second successive
defeat upon Tottenham, advised Spurs not to capitulate. “You still
try to do the right bit of business for the football club,” Keane
said. “I don’t mean you should lose money, but you lose the player
and try to get the right deal for your club. Trust me, there are
not many top strikers out there, so you hold out and, eventually,
these big clubs have to pay the money.”
The club came under fire from some supporters on Saturday who
question a transfer policy that has left Ramos with one striker,
Darren Bent, after the sale of Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe and
the sulks of Berbatov. “It’s not my decision,” Ramos said. “It’s
the club’s decision.”
Berbatov’s arrival at Old Trafford will delight Sir Alex
Ferguson, who has been desperate to sign a top-class forward to
compete with Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tévez. Louis Saha will be
allowed to leave the club, with AS Roma and AS Monaco having joined
Sunderland in expressing an interest, while Ferguson is waiting to
hear whether Manucho, the Angola forward, will receive the work
permit that he needs to play or the club.
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