MANCHESTER United manager Alex Ferguson is confident Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov will sign from Tottenham before the start of next season.
"We have made Tottenham an offer on Berbatov and we have good expectations that this deal will go through," Ferguson was quoted as saying yesterday.
Tottenham appear resigned to losing the 27-year-old who has been a huge success since joining from
Bayer Leverkusen in 2006 but would want a fee of around £25 million.
"I think time will work for us more than against us," Ferguson said. "We will not stress this situation. We are hoping to have a constructive conversation with Tottenham in the near future."
Tottenham manager Juande Ramos said on Thursday that some senior players would be allowed to leave the club as they build for the future.
According to former United defender Gary Pallister, Berbatov would be the closest thing Manchester United have had to Eric Cantona since the brilliant Frenchman retired.
"Berbatov reminds me of Eric Cantona so much it is almost scary," said the former centre-half. "
He caresses the ball in the same manner, he has the touch, can score goals, bring others into the game and play up front on his own."
Pallister certainly does not see Berbatov having a problem fitting in at Old Trafford. For him, the Bulgarian is simply made for Old Trafford. "He is the type of player fans of United love," he said. "There is an arrogance about him, just as Eric had, and you can tell straight away he would fit in.
"After winning the Premier League and Champions League last season, I am sure Sir Alex Ferguson felt he only needed to tweak his squad a little bit and in buying Berbatov, that is what he would be doing."
United have landed in Cape Town at the start of their three-match tour of South Africa without Owen Hargreaves, although they are confident he will recover from a knee injury in time for the season opener against Newcastle on 17 August.
The full article contains 347 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
