Berbatov 'close to Utd deal'

Updated 23.21 Thu Aug 14 2008
Keywords: dimitar berbatov, sport, football, white hart lane, tottenham, tottenham hotspur, spurs, juande ramos

Dimitar Berbatov is being chased by Barcelona and Manchester United,Tottenham believe.

United are working on a deal for Berbatov and Spurs' belief that Barcelona are also monitoring the 27-year-old could move negotiations along on the eve of the Premier League season.

"He's our player, he is at our club and he is a fantastic player - it would be great for him to stay" - Juande Ramos

There has been no announcement of a fee being agreed between Spurs and United, and the Bulgaria striker has been training in London.

Spurs head coach Juande Ramos will make a late decision on whether Berbatov should feature against Middlesbrough if the saga drags on into the first week of the season.

He said: "I will wait until the final training session and see how he is in training, that's when I will make a decision on that.

"He's an excellent pro, he's been working totally independently to anything that might be happening outside the football and any speculation has been dealt with by his agent. He's just been getting on with things professionally in training."

Ramos added: "He is a great player and is carrying himself superbly well through this and we want him to stay but if it is my personal opinion, I have no preference one way or another - you have to go with what is happening.

"He's our player, he is at our club and he is a fantastic player - it would be great for him to stay.

"It is nothing to panic about. We have performed very well in recent friendlies, they have been great attacking performances so it is not something that concerns me."

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