Filed under: Manchester United, Premier League, Football
The warning signs have long been there and now the writing appears to be on the wall for Dimitar Berbatov's Manchester United future.Now a fringe figure after falling down the pecking order and still no new contract offer on the tabe, the odds of seeing the Bulgarian striker in a Manchester United shirt next season are shortening by the day.
In fact, you could put some money on his departure coming sooner than that, according to the Manchester Evening News.
The MEN claim Berbatov will be offered an escape route by La Liga side Valencia in January.
And Sir Alex Ferguson may decide to cash in now on Berbatov, who at 30 he might well see as his best days being behind him.
Berbatov has just started the Carling Cup clash at Leeds and against Stoke in the Premier League this season while his other four appearances have been as a late substitute.
Significantly, it was Danny Welbeck, rather than Berbatov, who the Manchester United manager turned to against Norwich on Saturday.
With Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez off colour, it was Welbeck who was called on and he responded by scoring late on in their 2-0 win.
For Berbatov, it's all a stark contrast to this time last season - when he had already scored seven goals and was lauded for his hat-trick against Liverpool.
But the emergence of Hernandez, who was a regular from January, saw Berbatov lose his place and he didn't even make the substitutes bench against Barcelona in the Champions League final.
He remained as the club's top scorer, but he was left in no uncertain terms he faced a fight for his future having been overlooked. So, with his contract expiring at the end of the season, the last thing Berbatov needed was to see Welbeck edge him ahead of him following his return from a loan spell at Sunderland.
With summer signing Ashley Young, who can also play in attack, and Michael Owen waiting in the wings it was clear a shift in style was going to be counted against the former Tottenham favourite.
Ferguson, especially in away games, wants pace in his side - something his £30 million signing from three years ago lacks. Berbatov also has not been helped by his barren run in Europe.
He has gone three years without finding the net for Manchester United - and that wouldn't have gone unnoticed as Ferguson continues to give him the cold shoulder in that competition as well as on the domestic front.
Valencia won't be the only admirers of Berbatov.
But with his price tag falling with every passing week it may be time for the champions to sell sooner rather than later as they continue to keep a player, believed to be on £100,000-a-week, on the sidelines.
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