Spurs set to sign £10.7m Berbatov

MrJoeSoap

Tottenham close on Bulgarian ace

Tottenham are reportedly closing in on a £10.7m deal to sign Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov from Bayer Leverkusen.

The 25-year-old is contracted to the Bundesliga outfit until 2009 but Spurs are willing to match the asking price.

Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller said in the Bild newspaper: "Tottenham have been in contact and are now prepared to pay the transfer fee.

"He wants something different and it is now Dimitar's decision but it hurts us to lose such a class player."

Berbatov stands second in the Bundesliga list of top-scorers behind German Miroslav Klose after netting 20 league goals for Leverkusen this season.

The Bulgarian, who has been capped 47 times, joined Leverkusen from CSKA Sofia six years ago.

Should he move to White Hart Lane, Spurs boss Martin Jol will add to his roster of strikers that includes Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe and Mido.

However, Egyptian international Mido is coming to the end of his 18-month loan spell and a succession of injuries means Jol may not take up the option to sign him permanently.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/4761177.stm

Does this spell the end of Defoe at WHL, even if Mido is on his way?

Jonny Arson

I wouldn't rule out Defoe staying as of yet. If Mido does leave (I think is likely) they'll still need a top striker, really it depends on whether Defoe wants to continue to fight for his place or not.

Berbatov is a decent striker but nothing more. 10.7 million is alot for him. Van Nistelrooy would be a far better option IMO.

Kingp35

£10.7m is an awful lot of money for Berbatov and is a huge risk imo. There is no doubt that he is a good player but he is nothing extra special and may turn out to be another Rebrov. If this deal is confirmed then I think Mido certainly wont be signed on a permanent deal.

jobonar

Zane from MTV2 wrote:

Van Nistelrooy would be a far better option IMO.

if Van Nistelrooy is sold(looking very likely unfortunately) i doubt he'd want to stay in england or even if united would sell him to 1 of thier rivals!

Spain is his destiantion if he is on his travels!

Playboy

I can see Spurs trying to hold on to Mido and Defoe. Imo This new striker will provide competition for Mido. Remember Spurs are going to need 4 strikers next season if they are going to seriously challenge for the Uefa Cup.

PHB

If he signs he will be the best striker that Spurs will have.
Top quality signing and i'd be shocked to see him join spurs, I think other clubs will get in this before it's over

KdjaCL

Good signing for Keane, this guy scores goals and lots of them an out an out striker.


Spurs please sign him , ireland needs strikers with CL exp as only Keane could play off him, sell Defoe to pool as a foil for Crouch


kdjac

TheMonster

Could see this happening if Spurs were in CL - not sure now. Hes too good not to play CL.

Lemlin

I think Mido will be on his way.

KdjaCL

Trying to get the deal done today, seems Utd want him now for some reason


kdjac

mchurl

Also heard rumours for the past while in a lot of the papers about United's interest. Havent seen much of the lad but he must be fairly decent to finish 2nd topscorer in the Bundesliga, although i think the PL is a lot higher standard than the Bundesliga.

Royale with Cheese

mchurl wrote:

although i think the PL is a lot higher standard than the Bundesliga.

It is, but take the top 3 or 4 teams out of the Premiership and there's not much difference. Mid table teams in the Bundesliga I'd say are the same as in England. Fc Koeln would even beat Sunderland. Unfortunately in Germany there's only Bayern Munich. Although had Abramovich not come onto the scene the gap between the 2 leagues would be even smaller.

PHB

Germany is below the top 3 leagues, but they are still without a doubt the 4th league.
His goal tally there is very impressive, especially against German defenses which aren't half bad dontcha know.

therecklessone

I don't know, I've seen some Bundesliga games and tbh its a bit Keystone Cops at the back. That said, 57 goals in 99 league appearances (last 3 years ) is a great return.

therecklessone

Look's like this is happening

Nach dem 2:2 gegen Hannover, nach einer erneuten Fußball-Gala Berbatovs samt 21. Saisontreffer, verkündete der 25-Jährige erstmals öffentlich seinen Entschluss. „Ja, das war mein letztes Spiel für Bayer“, sagte der Torjäger leise, „ich werde nun eine neue Aufgabe bei Tottenham Hotspurs in Angriff nehmen. Ich hatte wunderschöne Jahre in Leverkusen. Aber nun ist es an der Zeit, an meine Karriere zu denken.“

Which I'm reliably informed translates as:

After the 2-2 draw against Hannover and another one of Berbatov's football-gala-shows, the 25-year-old for he first time in public made his descision clear. "Yes, that was my last game for Bayer", said the goalscorer quietly, "I now have a new task with Tottenham Hotspur(s), I've had some excellent years at Leverkusen but now the time has come for me to think about my career".

Pepe LeFrits

He'll be a good signing for Spurs I reckon.

PHB

He's a great signing, if Ruud is leaving, I hope we steal him.

SuprSi

And now a £34 million shirt deal!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/4771709.stm

Currently in the top 10 in the world for shirt sponsorship!

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/03/28/cz_06soccer_pm_jerseyslide.html?thisSpeed=15000

Something to brighten Spurs fans up after a pretty bad week.

tred

PHB wrote:

He's a great signing, if Ruud is leaving, I hope we steal him.

Hope hes better than the last 10 million striker spurs bought.....its big pressure now a days. If he is so good, why didnt bayern go for him?

Lemlin

Bayern already have a few strikers like Makaay and Cruz AFAIK. They'll be concentrating on replacing Ballack anyway.

tred

Lemlin wrote:

Bayern already have a few strikers like Makaay and Cruz AFAIK. They'll be concentrating on replacing Ballack anyway.

True but am i correct in saying mackay had a poor season and did not make the national team. like u said the are probably trying to replace ballak.

mchurl

Makaay scored 17 league goals this season so i wouldnt exactly say it was a poor season, but he didnt make the Dutch squad.

Royale with Cheese

tred wrote:

Hope hes better than the last 10 million striker spurs bought.....its big pressure now a days. If he is so good, why didnt bayern go for him?

Bayern as has been expected since the beginning of the season, will sign Lukas Podolski from Fc Köln. He's Germany's no.1 Striker at 20 years old and a genuine talent, although he tends to play quite deep. A bit like Rooney really.