Tottenham boss Martin Jol insists Dimitar Berbatov is not
for sale despite reported interest from Manchester United and
Chelsea. Berbatov, 26, has earned a host of admirers in his first
season at White Hart Lane, with Jol tipping the Bulgaria
international to emulate Spurs legends such as Jurgen Klinsmann.
His 21 goals has led to inevitable speculation about a move to a
club at the top of the Premiership, a year after Manchester United
were interested in buying him from Bayer Leverkusen. Jol lost
Michael Carrick to United last summer but the Dutchman is confident
of keeping Berbatov, pointing to the healthy financial figures
published earlier in the year meaning Spurs would not need to
sell.
"I have no fears - from anybody or any circumstances, said Jol.
"The chairman wouldn't sanction it, even if I'd like to. "We keep
our best players 99% of the time over the last five or six years. I
don't see any reason why we should. We made a lot of profit over
the last six months and we don't have to sell players."
Berbatov is the latest striker to capture the hearts of Spurs fans.
Klinsmann had two spells at White Hart Lane and before him was Gary
Lineker and Clive Allen, the latter is still at the club as
development coach. Jol believes Berbatov can become a legend of the
club if he plays his part in a successful era. He said: "Klinsmann
was here in '98 and they were almost relegated. So what is a
legend? "Clive Allen scored 49 in a season. There is still a lot to
improve with the team and with Dimitar, he can score 30 or 35 goals
in all competitions.
"There is a lot more to come because he's such a good finisher."
Jol was impressed with how Berbatov adapted to the Premiership
after a tricky start. "He noticed in the first couple of months
that it was different, so I told him 'welcome to the Premiership,
said the Spurs boss. "He did so much work in training and in the
gym. "You can never say you are 100% convinced when you sign a
player from abroad, it's a tough league. But talent-wise, everyone
in Germany, including Bayern Munich, knew it and would love
him."
Even at £10.9million, Berbatov has been hailed as one of the
shrewdest signings of the season, with his performances earning the
respect of his fellow professionals and a place in the PFA team of
the year. Other managers have been quick to praise the Bulgarian
but Jol tries not to discuss his striker with his counterparts. He
added: "I don't want to talk about it with them because maybe
they'd agree. I tell them he's lazy!"
