United's capacity to get their man, albeit eventually, has been demonstrated again. Dimitar Berbatov answers the need for a target man and a more conventional No.9 and ensures Sir Alex Ferguson can revert to perming two from a four-man strike-force. In the end the record transfer was a signing, rather than a sale as Cristiano Ronaldo remained in Manchester. Indeed, United's squad is largely untouched, though the lesser-spotted trio of Gerard Pique, Mikael Silvestre and Louis Saha have gone. And while United have appeared largely inactive in the transfer market for much of the summer, it is worth remembering that when Carlos Tevez's permanent deal is finalised, Berbatov will lose his status as the record signing… anyway, this is the detail breakdown of the season.
Even the former Manchester United ace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claims latest Red Devils recruit Dimitar Berbatov will be a "class" addition to their ranks. Berbatov, who played for Bayer Leverkusen against United in the Champions League four times during 2002, moved to the Red Devils in a £30.75million deal from Premier League rivals Tottenham.
Berbatov featured in both of the semi-finals in the 2001-02 season which the German side won through on away goals. He also played in the group stage home and away fixtures later that year, scoring once at the BayArena. Solskjaer told MUTV: “The saga lasted all summer but we were always confident we'd found the right one. I think he's the right one. His performances for Spurs have been great. I knew he was a good player when he played against us for Bayer Leverkusen.”
“We're delighted we've got him,” added Solskjaer, who took up a job as United reserve-team coach when injury ended his 11-year Old Trafford playing career.
In: Dimitar Berbatov, Davide Petrucci
Out: Louis Saha, Mikael Silvestre, Gerard Pique, Fraizer Campbell (loan), Lee Martin (loan), Danny Simpson (loan), Chris Eagles, Tom Heaton (loan), Kieran Lee, Dong Fangzhuo
Spent: £32M
Received: £9.7M
And the new look of the team will be something like this…(4-3-2-1):
Van Der Sar
Neville(Brown), Ferdinard, Vidic, Evra
Hargreaves(Fletcher), Scholes(Anderson/O’Shea), Carrick (Giggs)
Ronaldo(Park/Tevez), Rooney(Nani)
Berbatov(Manucho)
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