Papers: Berba on his way?

Reds close in on Berba

Juande Ramos has told the Tottenham board it is time to give up the fight to keep Dimitar Berbatov from Manchester United's clutches. Spurs have been angered by United's public courting of their Bulgaria striker but the Spaniard wants an end to the feud so that he can bring in a replacement before the end of the transfer window on Monday. Berbatov was left out of Saturday's defeat against Sunderland and fined a week's wages for not being ready for the White Hart Lane game. United are ready to offer £25m for the 27-year-old and Ramos is already lining up Ajax star Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as a replacement. A perturbed Ramos said: "We need to get this matter resolved before the transfer deadline. If Berbatov goes, we will need time to sign a replacement. We want to have the best centre forward we can possibly get. This is the first time I have faced this problem as a coach and the truth is I have found it a conflicting situation to be in."
Staff reporter, Daily Mail

The Times claim United made a second formal bid for Berbatov on Saturday in the region of £25 million and expect him to sign in the next few days.

In other news, Sir Alex has revealed that Rio Ferdinand will be his future captain at Old Trafford. Sir Alex made Ferdinand his skipper last season in the absence of Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs. And with that duo coming to the end of their careers, Sir Alex said: “In the long term, Rio will be our captain. There is no question about that."

Following the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing, it emerged that Lord Coe made a concrete proposal for Sir Alex to become the Great Britain manager/coach at the 2012 Games in London.