The Curious Case of Dimitar Berbatov

After leading the line for the Premier League winners with 20 goals, Manchester United’s Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov looks set to depart for £20 million to Qatari-backed Paris Saint Germain.

Few players have polarised opinion amongst the Old Trafford faithful like the languidly-styled forward, who seems to play the game in such a relaxed mode that it affords him the opportunity to express his artistic style on a grand stage.

He has received great criticism for his approach to the game, with many pundits agreeing that it is not cohesive with United’s style of play and is certainly not an attribute that flourishes in England.

Conversely, the stats man would argue that Berbatov scored goals for fun in last season’s campaign, ending with a very respectable tally of 20 league goals. And one would argue that had Sir Alex not opted to play Javier Hernandez in place of the Bulgarian for large parts of the season, he would have certainly added to that tally.

However, the amount of goals he scored does come under a certain amount of scrutiny when one looks at it more closely. A breakdown of those statistics revealed that he scored three hat-tricks, including one in a game against Blackburn where he went on to score five goals, which helped to boost his overall total.

Taking nothing away from Berbatov, it just seems his creative style is somewhat lost on the common Premier League fan, and perhaps now even with his manager, who would rather replace it with a more industrious approach; so much so that they are willing to let him go if the right price is received.

Following the 8-2 loss to Marseille in a charity match in Monaco, Sir Alex responded to a question asked by French television whether the 30-year-old could make a move to the big spending Ligue 1 outfit; to which he replied.

“Yes, he might,” he replied. “That’s possible.”

How, you ask, could United gaffer Sir Alex Ferguson part with his top goal scorer from last season (in fact he was joint top scorer in the entire League), without expressing even a moment’s hesitation?

Well, considering the fact that he was signed from Tottenham for a staggering £30.75 million, the striker will be 31 in January and if United are not to sell him this transfer window to the cashed up French side, then it seems they will inevitably take a massive loss whenever he does leave the club.

Consider also that Ferguson seems to lack faith in the Bulgarian, especially when it comes to big games, that £20 million for an ageing substitute seems like godsend.

The emergence of Hernandez has more than likely signalled the end for Berbatov. This all culminated in the Champions League final where ‘Chicharito’ started and Berbatov could not even find a place on the bench.

However, traditionally, Ferguson has carried three top line strikers into the season, a combination which he has previously used to absolute perfection.

Whether that be in the form of trio Sheringham, A.Cole, Yorke or Rooney, Berbatov, Tevez, it has been his signature formation for when it comes to outscoring opponents

They have generally shared the goal-scoring burden placed on any Premier League striker with relative ease, and it remains to be seen how Ferguson will adjust for this coming campaign.

In Rooney and Hernandez, Sir Alex has a clear first choice front-two pairing that he believes is more than capable of winning another league title. And in Owen, Welbeck Macheda and Diouf perhaps the wily Scot sees that as enough back up.

However, one feels it is in new signing Ashley Young that Ferguson finds most comfort. Young was bought on the basis of his great Premier League experience, telling crosses and assists, and most importantly his versatility to play anywhere along the front line.

Whether that be on the left side of a front three or as a support player to a lone striker, it has become clear that Ferguson will certainly get a lot of usage out of the crafty Englishman.

Also in Danny Welbeck, Old Trafford has a young striker of only 20 years of age with loads of pace and great potential; who has already played a significant number of games on loan at Sunderland, scoring some crucial goals along the way and is ready to make that next step in his career.

Couple this with the possibility of Macheda coming of age and an experienced Michael Owen to call upon for that crucial goal at the death, and it seems Ferguson might not be in need of the third world class striker for this campaign.

Instead, the club could reinvest the money in areas where it is more needed; such as the midfield. Wesley Sneijder and co now look like more attractive propositions with the money to be received from the capitol of France. If Berbatov is sold then that will free a great amount of money, both in terms of transfers and in salary allocation, to reallocate elsewhere.

However a potential stumbling block could come in the form of the player himself. Berbatov said only last week that he would be unwilling to make a step down from a club as prestigious as United.

“Smaller clubs might be able to match Manchester United with the way they play, with their organisation, everything. But Manchester United are at the top,” he told PA. “Where can you go from there?

“Maybe Barcelona. At the moment, I don’t see anything else. If you go somewhere it is a big step down. For me, I always went up, up, up in my career. I am happy.”

A sentiment echoed by United’s chief executive David Gill, who said at the weekend that the club had never considered moving on the Bulgarian. “Everyone has been talking about Berbatov from the outside, saying he wants to leave or that we want him to leave, but we don’t want him to go. We want him to stay. He scored 20 goals last season, so there is no desire on our behalf to see him go.”

Gill also disregarded the fact that Berbatov was the only player at the club in the final year of his contract not yet to be offered an extension. “People keep telling me he’s in the final year of his contract but there is an option on the club’s side to extend Dimitar’s contract by another year. We can do it whenever we want, there are no conditions around it and that means, in effect, he has two years to go.”

One feels that a move would indeed be positive for both parties. It would provide United with the money needed to invest in a world class midfielder, whilst simultaneously providing Berbatov with a promising venture of pastures new. The Paris-based club are building towards something special in France, with the capture of the highly sought after Pastore, and it now seems they require a talisman to complete the outfit.

And with time running out before the Ligue 1 season kick-off, a quick solution is in order.

Stay tuned.