I haven’t been the biggest supporter of Dimitar Berbatov over the years, but I understand just how much quality he offers Manchester United. With that in mind, I was more than a little surprised to see that there are pockets of United fans who are more than willing to see the Bulgarian leave Old Trafford in the summer. Can United really do without the services of their top-scorer next season?
Reports from Goal.com on Tuesday suggested that the 30-year-old was unhappy at being offered a rolling one-year extension by United, favouring instead a long-term deal. As a result contract talks have broken down and there’s thought to be a real possibility that Berbatov could leave the club during the summer transfer window. His current deal runs until June 2012, but Berbatov is looking to extend his commitment to United for at least another two years.
Goal.com suggests that United would be willing to increase the Bulgarian’s weekly salary from £80k to £120k. This has sparked debate amongst fans as to Berbatov’s true worth to United. He may be their top-scorer this season, but with Wayne Rooney in peak form and Javier Hernandez’s ascendance this season, is he really essential to United’s future success?
Let’s face it, Berbatov has never had much pace – that’s not why Sir Alex Ferguson brought him into the team. He’s there for his remarkable technique, his team-play and his goal-scoring ability. He’s run into criticism at United when he’s been asked to play as a lone striker, but surely it’s unfair to judge him on this basis. The fault must surely be placed with Sir Alex for playing Berbatov in a role that just doesn’t suit him.
What Berbatov does, he does remarkable well and United wouldn’t be anywhere near as close as they are to winning the Premier League this season if it wasn’t for his goals.
Given that Berbatov has never relied on his pace, I’d say it’s worth keeping him on the books. Whilst pace is easily lost whilst a player ages, technique tends to stick around until the very end of footballer’s careers. Just consider the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Teddy Sheringham or Zinedine Zidane – players who relied on ability and technique, not pace and were able to continue playing into their mid-thirties as a result. Hitting thirty doesn’t necessarily mean that Berbatov is standing atop a downward slope. He still has plenty to offer Manchester United.
The only question is whether Berbatov would be willing to accept that he would play second-or-third fiddle to the likes of Wayne Rooney and Hernandez. If the Bulgarian can accept that he will be part of a rotating-attack, I can’t help but feel that it’d be worth offering him a two-year extension to his contract. He still has the ability to contribute to United and ought to be rewarded for his fine showing this season.
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Even in the days of Cole & Yorke, we needed alternatives to change the rhythm and overcome the opposition in certain games. Bringing on Sheringham and Solskjaer worked, I seem to remember.
You always need to change your forwards to present the opposition with different challenges at some stage in a match. Keeping such a talent as Berbatov is vital, I feel.