With Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo hurt, and no new strikers on the books yet, Manchester United is in dire need of forward help and appears ready to break the bank to acquire that help.
Man U is closing in on Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov, with a reported $53.2 million transfer being the hefty price for the Bulgarian striker.
The Berbatov transfer situation affects more than just Tottenham and Man U. It could be the first in a series of dominoes, with Tottenham very likely to go after the likes of Andrei Arshavin and David Villa if it sells Berbatov for that price. It would also set the market for the likes of Samuel Eto’o and Emmanuel Adebayor.
I will add some other European soccer notes to this post shortly. For now, what do you think of Man U adding Berbatov? Will he fit in well with the Red Devils? Could Tottenham come out ahead by using the Berbatov money to land a trio of new players?
Share your thoughts below.
I second that…no chance in hell were the signings of evra, vidic, park or even carrick on the same level of the proven talent that chelsea brought in.
carrick and rooney only seem as though they were world class at the time of their transfers because of the hyperbolic premiership hype machine. carrick came from tottenham where he was known as a slick passer but not much else. as for rooney, he was a teen phenom! they signed him on the basis of his potential–just like anderson or nani– surely not on the back of his production for everton because by the time he started banging in goals for the toffees SAF was already banging down the door on merseyside. give me a break.
Seriously? Evra, Vidic, Park, Van Der Sar all cost ~£5m each. Nobody had ever even heard of Evra or Vidic before they joined Man Utd. If you are going to compare Man Utd to Chelsea, you really need to step it up and use wasteful transfers like Veron.
Regardless, people forget that Man Utd have also been selling players and when you look at spent/sold Utd doesn’t come anywhere near Chelsea or even Liverpool. Rio was bought on the back of funds for selling Jaap Stam. Compare the difference of selling stam and then paying £30m+ for Rio vs. £35m or whatever Chelsea paid for Shevchenko or the £21m they paid for Shaun freakin Wright Phillips. How about the measley £12m that Utd paid for CRonaldo vs. the £13.5m spent for Malouda lol. There is just no comparison.
Rio Ferdinand was the world’s most expensive defender for Leeds before he was bought by ManU. Certainly he was more high profile when Manu bought him than Drogba was at Marseille.
Not to mention that Rooney was very high profile for Everton before he was bought by ManU.
Carrick was already a developed, proven player. He proved that with my club, West Ham Utd, and don’t you fookin’ forget it baby!
COME ON YOU IRONS!!!
haha
jmac
Anelka played for Bolton
SF Dude — did anyone one of those players I mentioned on Chelski start their careers in England, or am I totally out to lunch?
And to all the other United haters — Are you kidding me? Evra? Park? Vidic? Give me a break!? are you saying they are anywhere close to the noteriety that Drogba, Ballack, Shevchenko had when they arrived at Chelski? Carrick, Anelka had one good season at Tottenham before United got him. Ok, I will give you Van der Sar and Hargreaves, but the latter isn’t as big as the above-mentioned players (guess I am not that Anglo-centric, SF dude)
ManU had a bid for Silva, not Villa, today. …and it was rejected.
Frank, the Community (Charity) Shield is hardly a title. Yes, it’s a trophy, but really it’s a glorified friendly to kick-start the new season. Not disputing your point, but lets only count meaningful trophies/competitions.
– berbatov ONLY if it means a chance at seeing Villa + Eto’o
im not too hot on Arshavin, but i think Modric is talented enough for that team
If i had to choose tho, i would take Eto’o and not Villa, and then maybe get Arshavin, hmm.
Evra? Vidic? Park? Carrick?
“Most of United players were developed within or bought when they were young and not a star yet.”
Van der Sar? Hargreaves? Rio?
Dannyc58,
You’re right, it’s not exactly the same as Leeds but the Glazers have tapped out all of their resources. One thing Leeds suffered from was a slumping transfer market when it came time to unload some players. It’s not to say Man U is in dire straights, but it sure seems like they are risking more and more on winning something every year.
jmac, tevez probably isn’t “established” like the other players you mentioned, but that may be only to you. tevez won his 11 title this past weekend w/the win against portsmouth. he won titles in ARG. BRA a couple of intercontinental cups. and played in a world cup. i not sure all those guys combined have that many titles. oh that’s right only epl counts here in america. my bad.
Yeah Ade re-signed. No way he’s going anywhere for the 08/09 season.
not sure its very fair to compare United with Chelski’s band of mercenaries. Most of United players were developed within or bought when they were young and not a star yet. The only player — outside of Berbatov if he signs — that fits the Chelski mold arguably is Tevez, but he isn’t even close to being as established as Drogba, Ballack, Shevchenko, Anelka, etc. that Chelski has bought.
This is the second of these articles that Ives has tied Eto’o and Adebayor together in the transfer market. I just don’t think this is the case anymore. Adebayor JUST signed a new contract, so he’s staying at Arsenal this year. After this year? Who knows. Contracts aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on anymore. But when a player commits and signs, it’s at least good for ONE year.
I tyhough Man Ure bid on Villa today, not Berba?
ManUsa is becoming a bit like Chelsea was. Buying high priced talent rather than developing it.
So, while I rooted for ManUsa against Chelski, I man now look for a new team that isn’t a bunch of high-prices mercinaries. Is there one left?
i wish he’d go for the younger huntelaar but since fergie is going to retire within 2-3 years according to him he’s going for the finished product that’s a proven goalscorer. that being said he’ll totally fit in, he holds the ball up and is a good passer as well as being able to score like a mother. i can see this ending the same way ruud’s stay did though.
Arshavin maybe, but Spurs fans are dreaming if they think David Villa is coming…
Mike,
Its definitely a concern, but Man U has the “branding” that Leeds never had, and probably never will. No one in Asia every supported Leeds, least not to my knowledge ;). In the event of the worst (they don’t qualify for Champions League) I think the sales could get them through a rough patch.
Is anyone concerned about one of the world’s top clubs having serious debt and still spending big in every transfer window? I’m not a Man U fan, but it just doesn’t seem good for the game. Am I crazy to think they are playing a very dangerous game? Visions of Leeds just keep entering my head.
To my knowledge no bid has been made with the club. No offer has been accepted. Just another example of Man U tapping up through the media or the media just creating stories.
Juande likes and respects Berba’s skill and drive–but won’t tolerate the Bulgarian’s petulant primadonna-like behaviour. That being said, Spurs will play some attractive football this year, and it wouldn’t suprise me one bit if it was with or without Berba. I think it is quite possible that despite what Juande might want, Berba may have damaged his relations with some of the Spurs higher-ups too much for repair–even if the Bulgarian had a change of heart and wanted to stay.
Out of curiousity, is there anyone that reads these pots and PREFERS USD over the currency the deal is actually occuring in?
Not being a jerk, honestly curious.
wouldnt be surprised if he was leading goalscorer this year and if spurs challenged liverpool for 4th place
Might be one move too many for Spurs. They added a lot of nice players but nobody of Berbatov’s calibre. I believe you need at least one truly world-class player to win trophies. Villa would be a world-class replacement, but reports say that deal is off.
Furthermore, if you want to be in the top 4, you have to play well and collect points from the get-go. Hard to do if you’re still integrating a slew of players into the side. Points in August count the same as points in April.
Ives – the Championship started their season last weekend. Are you planning to do your weekly segment on the American’s playing over there? Also, no place to follow along and comment on the women’s big win this morning?
I think he’s a bit overpriced and would rather sign Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
Tottenham comes out ahead. They’ve been absolutely savaging teams in the preseason…beating Roma 5-0 without Berba even seeing the field.
Bent seems to be having a Renaissance, scoring 13 times in the preseason, and Bentley and Dos Santos seem to be settling in.
Add either Arshavin or Villa to the mix, and you have a pretty imposing lineup.
At some point, there will be no difference between Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan, etc… they’re just a carousel of international talent.
Will Berbatov fit into Manchester United’s plans and style of play? Yes, because he’s a highly skilled international footballer who can compete in the EPL.
And if Spurs get Arshavin, it’s only a matter of time before he gets poached by some other top European club.
YES!