With his departure from Manchester United apparent where should Berbatov end up? Mathew Nash explains why he hopes the Bulgarian remains in the Premier League.
Dimitar Berbatov, quite emotionally, announced his desire to leave Manchester United this summer after an up and down stint at Old Trafford as his first team opportunities seem obsolete.
Despite obviously not being one of the hardest workers on a football pitch the guile and class of the Bulgarian is undeniable. His first touch rivals Dennis Bergkamp’s and his talismanic attitude can break opponents down. I remember witnessing such an effect when he tore out West Ham hearts with a delicious dinked free kick in 2007.
Now he is available for a cut price £5million and would be a snip for many teams, but with money tight and an ever increasing emphasis on young players Berbatov finds himself in limbo.
That hasn’t stopped speculation however and at 31 years old Dimitar certainly has a few more years left in him and United are often willing to sell players who are leaving amicably, Darron Gibson and Gerard Pique for example, without pushing for too high a price.
So where could he go?
Talks of a move to West Ham for the Bulgarian were rubbished way back in July and Mark Hughes has gone on to distance himself from a deal bringing the unloved striker to Loftus Road. They are a team already blessed with significant striking talent but Berbatov’s signature would be marquee in stature. However Hughes isn’t one for transfer mind games and with Berba quite publically available distancing himself from the striker really means he isn’t interested.
With West Ham and QPR possibly out of the question it is hard to see where interest in the Bulgarian will come from in the Premier League. Teams who could afford him and have a chance of luring him from Old Trafford include Stoke, Liverpool, Newcastle but you can’t really see him joining any of these teams. Aston Villa need striker cover and Berbatov is friendly with club captain Stilyan Petrov (who is reportedly in remission after treatment for acute leukaemia; news welcomed by all) but he doesn’t strike me as a Paul Lambert player. It pains me to say but I can’t see Berbatov playing in the Premier league next season.
So where next for the mercurial frontman?
Interest in Russia is rife with Zenit St Petersburg and Rubin Kazan interested in bringing him in. His agent has tried to engineer a move to AC Milan whilst clubs such as former side Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Galatasary and Real Sociedad have all been fleetingly mentioned in passing.
I for one hope he will stay in the Premier League so many more memories like the ones in the following video may be created. Surely somebody is willing to gamble on the effervescent marksman and keep him in the Premier League next season?
image: © TottenhamFan
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