Man Utd close in on Berbatov: reports

Dimitar Berbatov's long-anticipated move from Tottenham to Manchester United could be completed in time for the Bulgarian striker to make his debut for the English champions on Saturday.

Reports in the British press on Wednesday suggest Spurs have finally agreed to sell their prize forward after United tabled a significantly improved offer now said to be in the region of 28 million pounds.

Spurs had turned down the original bid of 20m pounds saying they were not interested in letting Berbatov go for less than 30m.

The clubs remain in dispute over the manner in which Sir Alex Ferguson has pursued the striker with Spurs' chairman Daniel Levy making an official complaint.

The Premier League are due to discuss the 'tapping up' claim that has soured relations between the two sides in the next 48 hours but intermediaries including the player's agent Emil Dantchev were working on closing the deal late Tuesday, The Times reported.

A breakthrough is said to be imminent with Berbatov apparently now only waiting for permission to travel to Manchester to finalise personal terms and undergo a medical.

Most reports suggest he will be a United player in time for Saturday's Premier League opener against Newcastle.

Berbatov's departure which follows Robbie Keane's sale to Liverpool leaves Spurs searching for a new striker and could trigger the departure to AS Roma of United's France forward Louis Saha.