With mere hours left in the summer transfer window, which closes at midnight on September 1, the biggest news concerning the future of Dimitar Berbatov was not about a breakthrough in talks with Manchester United, but reports about an unexpected bid for Tottenham's disgruntled Bulgarian striker coming from Manchester City.
Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who faces the prospects of his assets in Thailand being seized, has reportedly agreed to sell his stake in City to Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment just a year after buying the club.
It is believed that the "first instruction to the Blues was to try and lure Berbatov for a reputed £28 million [34.5 million euro]," Manchester Evening News newspaper reported. "The Blues may try and use Martin Petrov to persuade his international team-mate to come to City," it went on to say.
United has pursued Berbatov since the start of the summer, but their £20 million (24.7 million euro) valuation of the Bulgarian fell some £10 million (12.3 millino euro) short of what Spurs want. That bid has reportedly been raised to £25 million (30.8 million euro) since then and recent media reports have suggested that United's 20-year-old striker Fraizer Campbell could be made part of the deal.
Despite the late bid, it appears unlikely that Berbatov will settle for a move to another team playing in the Uefa Cup, having described a transfer to United and playing in the Champions league as "a dream".
"The audacious move is bound to rile United, even if Berbatov goes to Old Trafford as expected," Manchester Evening News said.