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Where does the future lie for this Manchester United striker?

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With news that Michael Owen has agreed a one-year contract extension at Manchester United many pundits are now suggesting that this could mean the end of Dimitar Berbatov’s Old Trafford career.

The Bulgarian was omitted from Sir Alex Ferguson’s Champions League Final squad and is said to have reacted badly to the news, refusing to take his place in the stand with his fellow team-mates and has since claimed that he was “ashamed of his actions” and wants to stay with the club.

Though it may not be his choice with Ferguson now looking to the future and Chief Executive David Gill promising a busy summer in the transfer market as United aim to rebuild after last week’s disappointing defeat to a superb Barcelona side.

When Berbatov was brought in on transfer deadline day 2008 from Tottenham Hotspur for a club record fee of £30.75 million many believed he was the final piece of what would be a very special team. Though this wasn’t really the case and when extra emphasis was placed on his shoulders with the departures of Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo he produced mixed results.

There is no doubt that he has superb ability and is capable of moments of genius but in a team that is based on fast counter attacking football does his style really fit in? He prefers to play with his back to goal and come deep for the ball rather than as an out and out striker and his work rate at times has been criticised by a number of United fans.

His goalscoring record also raises a number of questions, having scored just 47 goals in 128 appearances for the club doesn’t exactly represent value for money considering the exploits of Javier Hernandez for example. The statistics also prove that Sir Alex Ferguson was justified in his decision to leave him out against Barcelona considering his last goal in the Champions League came in October 2008.

Having found his chances limited since the turn of the New year and being forced to watch the partnership of Wayne Rooney and Hernandez flourish from the bench his future does now seem uncertain. He no longer seems to be considered to be a big game player at United despite finishing as the Premier Leagues joint top scorer and if he does stay then could find his chances even more limited next season.

The manager certainly has a big decision to make, with the likes of Paul Scholes and Edwin Van Der Saar retiring the club are focused on bringing in the best young talent around and developing a team capable of challenging for major honours, does this include the likes of 30 year-old Berbatov or would a £10 million bid from another European club be enough to tempt them to sell?

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