Wayne Rooney in contention but Dimitar Berbatov deal still on ice

Manchester United are facing up to frustration in their attempt to beat today's deadline to sign Dimitar Berbatov in time for the player to make his debut against Newcastle United on Sunday, but Wayne Rooney has informed Sir Alex Ferguson that he is fit and available for selection, having made an encouraging recovery from the mystery virus that laid him low after their pre-season trip to Nigeria.
Rooney contracted the virus while in Abuja, where United played a lucrative exhibition match against Portsmouth on July 27, and was unable to train for ten days on the squad's return to Manchester. Ferguson suggested that Rooney had little chance of being fit for the start of the new Barclays Premier League season, but the word from United's Carrington training ground is that the forward has trained fully this week and undertaken additional sessions every afternoon to build up his fitness.
As is his way, Rooney has been pleading with Ferguson to select him against Newcastle at Old Trafford, but the United manager will consult his medical staff before making a final decision. Rooney is firmly expected to be named in the 18-man squad, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Louis Saha injured, but he must wait to learn whether he will join Carlos Tévez in the starting line-up or be named among the substitutes.
United had hoped to sign Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur this week, with a view to playing him against Newcastle if necessary, but Premier League rules stipulate that all the relevant paperwork must be processed and filed to the league's headquarters by noon on Friday for a transferred player to be eligible to represent his new club that weekend. In cases such as this, where international clearance from the Bulgarian FA would be required, that deadline can be extended to 5pm at the league's discretion.
As it is, the paperwork stage remains some way off, with United still to break Tottenham's resistance over a transfer fee and Barcelona lurking in the background.
Tottenham, who were irked this week by premature reports that a deal had been struck, were eager to make clear that they have not received a formal bid for Berbatov since rejecting United's opening £20.5 million offer last month, but negotiations are continuing through intermediaries, including Emil Dantchev, the player's agent. Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, wants £32 million for Berbatov, but United expect to complete a deal for approximately £28 million sooner rather than later.
Berbatov trained with his Tottenham team-mates yesterday and Juande Ramos, the head coach, has refused to rule out the forward playing away to Middlesbrough tomorrow. “I will wait until the final training session and see how he is,” Ramos said. “He's an excellent professional and he has been getting on with things in training.”
Privately, Ramos is resigned to losing Berbatov, but publicly he sounded a different note. “Dimitar is a great player and is carrying himself superbly through this and we want him to stay,” Ramos said yesterday. “I have no preference one way or another. You have to go with what is happening.”
With Robbie Keane having joined Liverpool for £20.3 million, Berbatov's departure would leave Darren Bent as the only senior centre forward at White Hart Lane, but Ramos said: “It is nothing to panic about. We work without rest to look for players and we have always known the deadline day is August 31. We are working calmly in the background on one or two things. We prefer to work with as much discretion as we can.”
Edwin van der Sar, the United goalkeeper, has followed Ryan Giggs by indicating that this season could be his last as a player. The goalkeeper, who will face competition this season from Ben Foster and Tomasz Kuszczak, will wait until December, by which time he will be 38, to decide whether to retire when his contract expires next June.
FROM:TIMES