Monte Carlo ideal venue as Manchester United look to break bank for Berbatov

With time running out before the transfer window closes, Manchester United hope to engineer a breakthrough in their pursuit of Dimitar Berbatov in the next 48 hours.
Sir Alex Ferguson and his squad travel to Monaco today in advance of the Champions League draw this evening and the European Super Cup tomorrow, but there is also the possibility of face-to-face negotiations between the United hierarchy and Tottenham Hotspur officials in Monte Carlo.
Dialogue between the clubs has been minimal since United first expressed interest in Berbatov at the start of the summer, but Tottenham, having lined up a deal to replace him with Roman Pavlyuchenko, now appear ready to talk. The expected £28 million deal for Berbatov should move closer over the coming days, with a strong possibility that David Gill, the United chief executive, will discuss the matter with Damien Comolli, the Tottenham sporting director, while they are in Monaco, the latter as part of the London club’s delegation for the Uefa Cup draw.
Tottenham maintain that they will not sell for less than £30 million and believe that their bargaining position has been strengthened by the formal complaint they have made to the Premier League regarding an alleged illegal approach for Berbatov.
United, while vehemently protesting their innocence, accept that the complaint has added another unwelcome dimension to a complicated deal, but they firmly expect to complete the transfer and for Tottenham to drop their complaint once an agreement has been reached, as they did with Liverpool over Robbie Keane earlier in the summer.
What is certain is that Berbatov will have more of an eye on this evening’s Champions League draw at the Grimaldi Forum than tomorrow’s Uefa Cup equivalent. The Bulgaria forward has no intention of staying at White Hart Lane, having formally requested a transfer 13 days ago and since been left out of the squad for the home defeat by Sunderland. He has been shunned by some of his team-mates since returning to training this week and, with Juande Ramos, the head coach, having seemingly captured Pavlyuchenko from Spartak Moscow, Tottenham’s stance is no longer anything like so defiant.
Tottenham also maintain an interest in Andrei Arshavin, the playmaking star of Zenit St Petersburg, United’s opponents at the Stade Louis II tomorrow evening. That, after the Community Shield, is the second of seven trophies that Ferguson has talked of winning this season, but, as ever, the Champions League is a top priority.
This evening’s draw will give some indication of the task ahead for England’s contingent, with United and Chelsea having been installed as the bookmakers’ favourites, three months after contesting the final in Moscow. Celtic’s place in the group stage, as Clydesdale Bank Premier League champions, was already assured, but not so Rangers, who fell to FBK Kaunas, of Lithuania, earlier in the qualifying campaign.
There is a strong chance that Celtic, among the third group of seeds, could be drawn against any of the Premier League entrants, who will be eager to avoid clubs such as Fiorentina and Atlético Madrid, who are lurking among the lower seeds.
This evening’s draw will be preceded by an awards ceremony from last season’s Champions League, won by United. Ferguson is firmly expected to win the coach-of-the-year award and Cristiano Ronaldo the club footballer of the year, while Edwin van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Ronaldo will be among the favourites to win their respective categories.
Of the 20 players nominated for awards, no fewer than 17 play for Premier League clubs, with six from United, five from Chelsea, four from Liverpool and two from Arsenal, reflecting their domination of last season’s tournament.
The only other candidates are Manuel Neuer, the Schalke 04 goalkeeper, Carles Puyol, the Barcelona defender, and Lionel Messi, the Barcelona forward.
How the draw works
Pot one Chelsea, Liverpool*, Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United, Lyons, Inter Milan, Real Madrid
Pot two Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven, Villarreal, AS Roma, FC Porto, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon, Juventus
Pot three Marseilles, Zenit St Petersburg, Steaua Bucharest, Panathinaikos, Bordeaux, Celtic, FC Basle, Fenerbahçe
Pot four Shakhtar Donetsk, Fiorentina, Atlético Madrid, Dynamo Kiev, Standard Liège*, CRF Cluj, AaB Aalborg, Anorthosis Famagusta, BATE Borisov
* Extra time being played
Clubs are drawn in eight groups of four, with teams playing each other home and away and the top two clubs progressing to the last 16, at which point the tournament reverts to a knockout format. Clubs from the same country cannot be drawn against each other in the group stage.
FROM:TIMESONLINES