Berbatov to exit Man Utd, but Fulham and Liverpool will not profit

Dimitar Berbatov is 99 per cent certain to leave Manchester United this summer, but a move to another top European league is far more likely than a switch to either Fulham or Liverpool.

Fulham boss Martin Jol was responsible for first introducing the Bulgarian to the Premier League when signing him from Bayer Leverkusen for Tottenham and would gladly link up with him again in London.

However, Jol is fully aware that Berbatov will be a wanted man at clubs able to offer far more than Fulham, both in terms of wages and the ability to offer European football.

Liverpool are one club that could, given that they have already won the Carling Cup this season and are particularly in need of a striker who can find the net with regularity.

Luis Suarez and Craig Bellamy are Liverpool’s top league scorers with six apiece and Berbatov has seven for Manchester United, despite starting just five games and featuring in another five as a substitute.

But not since Phil Chisnall in 1964 has a first-team player moved directly between Manchester United and Liverpool.

Therefore, with Berbatov’s agent Emil Danchev stating that the striker is not interested in leagues including the MLS, Japan or UAE, it may prove that a return to the Bundesliga is most likely for Berbatov.

Manchester United are willing to let Berbatov leave and having recently enforced a one-year contract extension, interested parties will have to stump up around £6m for his signature.

Bayern Munich and Schalke are two clubs who may look to Berbatov, especially if either lose star strikers Mario Gomez or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar over the summer.

Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain have not been afraid to spend in the past 12 months and a striker with the experience of Berbatov could help them become a bigger force on the European stage.