Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov has finally left Tottenham after signing a four-year deal with Manchester United.One of the summer's longest-running transfers was finally concluded tonight, with Fraizer Campbell going to Tottenham in a year-long loan.United have not confirmed how much they have paid for the 27-year-old but Tottenham confirmed they had agreed a fee of US$60 million.
As part of the deal, Tottenham have agreed not to pursue a complaint against United for making an illegal approach to the player.
With no problems reported, he returned to Old Trafford, where he was greeted warmly by Ferguson and chief executive David Gill to begin the long wait to see if a deal could be done that would eventually see Berbatov wear the number nine shirt vacated by Louis Saha, following the Frenchman's sale to Everton.
Forty minutes before the deadline expired, United submitted papers to the Premier League, hoping the registration would go through in time.
For Ferguson, Berbatov's arrival was a matter of extreme urgency.
While United were always confident Manchester City would be seen off as potential bidders, Ferguson knew he needed another senior striker.
The Scot has won the last two Premier League titles, and the Champions League a man light of his preferred four-pronged forward line.
And he knew this time around, there would be no surprise signing such as Henrik Larsson to help the Red Devils out, or an unexpected seam of goals from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, or, due to his current injury, 42 from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fraizer Campbell might have impressed in pre-season but Ferguson realised it was too much to expect the youngster to hold down a regular place should either Wayne Rooney or Carlos Tevez be ruled out for an extended period.
And, though other targets such as Michael Owen, Thierry Henry and David Villa were mentioned, Berbatov was the man Ferguson kept returning to.
At 27, Berbatov is slightly older than most of United's recent major purchases but Ferguson feels his silky touch - which the Scot first experienced when Bayer Leverkusen faced the Red Devils in Champions League combat five years ago.
Ferguson believes Berbatov has the quality to score goals himself and create chances for others.
Some may question the player's temperament in light of his recent behaviour but Ferguson has worked with plenty of highly-strung individuals, including Eric Cantona, and got the best out of them.
He will expect to do the same with Berbatov, starting when United travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on September 13.
Tuesday 2nd September 2008
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