Berbatov has pledged his future to Spurs "for the time being", while his agent has admitted the player would "find it difficult" to reject Manchester United. File photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)
The strikers crisis at Manchester United will prompt manager Alex Ferguson to make one final attempt to sign Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham, the Daily Mail reports on Wednesday.
The injuries to Louis Saha and Wayne Rooney, as well as the retirement of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, have left Carloz Tevez the only fit forward at the club and Ferguson is desperate to boost his strike force before the transfer window closes on Friday.
Manchester United will bid GBP 22 M for the Bulgarian, double what Tottenham paid for Berbatov last summer, but it will not be enough to prise him away from White Hart Lane, the paper claims.
It would take a bid in the region of GBP 40 M to tempt the Spurs to part ways with Berbatov, an instant fan favourite and top scorer in his first season at the club, with 23 goals in all competitions, the Daily Mail said, quoting unnamed Tottenham insiders.
Berbatov himself pledged his future to Tottenham last week, when speculation regarding his future mounted, while United denied making a formal bid.
Ferguson is a known admirer of the striker, who is captain of the Bulgarian national side and well on track to beat the goal record set by legendary Hristo Stoitchkov, but he might find himself priced out of a move, having already spend more than GBP 50 M this summer.