Transfer rumours are a dime a dozen. Very few have genuine substance so they should always be taken with a huge amount of cynicism. Yet they cannot be completely ignored in case there’s the slightest grain of truth in them. Some media outlets are obviously more reliable than others so Truly Reds is prepared to report the gossip and give a rating of 1 to 5 as to how believable it’s likely be. A rating of 1 can almost certainly be dismissed out of hand while a 5 may give the story some creedance. Have a look at the latest sports news and transfers being reported but be warned – only believe what you want.
In an ‘EXCLUSIVE’, Goal.com reports that Dimitar Berbatov’s contract talks with Manchester United have broken down and the Premier League’s leading scorer could be heading out of Old Trafford this summer. Berbatov was told the club were ready to hand him a two year extension to his current deal which runs out in in June 2012 during initial negotiations just before Christmas and was confident of putting pen to paper before the end of the season.
But when the Bulgarian returned to the negotiating table earlier this year, the offer had been downgraded to a one year rolling deal, albeit on improved terms. United are prepared to hike his wages from £80,000 a week to around £120,000 a week as reward for his role in propelling the club to a six point lead in the Premier League table.
Meanwhile, The Sunday Mirror is speculating that Berbatov could be set for an £8m return to Tottenham this summer after talks on extending his contract at United stalled – Rated 4
The latest on the ‘will he – won’t he’ Wesley Sneijder saga – The Inter Milan’s Dutch star has called Manchester United a “beautiful club” in an interview which will give United manager Sir Alex Ferguson encouragement to attempt a £25m summer swoop for the 26 year old. My biggest problem with this story is that it seems to be driven by the Daily Mail! – Rated 3
Also from the Mail – Manchester United are on the verge of signing 18-year-old French defender Raphael Varane. Ferguson has been keeping tabs on the £3.7million man, and the United boss has reportedly beaten off interest from Arsenal to land the Lens starlet. The 6ft 3in defender, who has made 17 appearances for Lens this season, signed a two-year deal at the beginning of this year to stay with the Ligue 1 club. But Ferguson is keen for Varane to provide backup to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic – Rated 3
Kenny Dalglish is ready to go head to head with Alex Ferguson for £15million rated Blackburn defender Phil Jones. The Sun says that Manchester United’s interest is long established – they made inquiries last summer, with a view to a definite move in the close season. Ferguson will have money to spend and sees Jones as the ideal long term partner for Chris Smalling. The pair have impressed in the heart of the defence for England’s Under 21s while Jones can also play as a holding midfielder – Rated 2
Should Ferguson allow Berbatov to remain in the Premier League?
If Berbatov leaves I don’t think it will be a concern if he goes to another English club. The biggest concern will be to get as much money as possible for him which won’t be anywhere near his transfer fee but could reach 7 or 8 million. I’d expect him to move abroad rather than staying in the EPL maybe Italy or Germany. The fact remains though that while still a United player we need him to be doing his best with such important games coming up. Once the dust settles and there are hopefully a couple of trophies we can talk about the comings and goings but until then we need to be focussed.
Why are people (United fans) so intent on seeing him leave, he’s ours and the leagues top scorer, without him we wouldn’t be in this title race, think about it when Rooney was misfiring and demanding money and better team mates who was banging them in for us.
United fans are so fickle.
@Sapper – Look at the breakdown of the goals he’s scored and only a few are winners – he’s missed a lot of important chances (who hasn’t I’ll admit) and his general demeanour doesn’t inspire confidence. For the money that was paid I don’t think the return has been good enough from the start.
what is wrong with you guys berbatov will be a waste if he goes for 7 mil when we got him for 31mil and he is top scorer. it wont really hurt to keep him as a back up since danny welbeck and macheda arent good enough neither is diouf. and owen and oberton underachieving so basically in reality its only rooney and hernandez
After what Sir Alex did I would be surprised if he doesn`t leave. Come on, we all know that Berba should have been in the group. Not Owen. How many goals did Owen score this season-1. Berba-20
@ anthony – Here’s a simplistic thought from an admittedly huge Berba fan. The problem of finding a creative midfielder for United can easily be solved by shifting Berbatov into the middle of the park! Why? Because he has the brains and class to set up Rooney and Hernandez for the openings they need. Does he lack the defensive qualities required? In a good team, there must surely be others who can cover any of those perceived deficiencies. Losing a talent like Berba from Old Trafford is simply unforgivable. Let’s all hope that Sir Alex thinks better of it despite his gross insult to Berbatov on Saturday – and this is from someone who happens to think that Sir Alex is as close to a God that anyone can be.