Time to cash in on Berbatov?

Dimitar Berbatov has hardly set Old Trafford alight since signing from Spurs in 2008. Because of the fee we paid for him, a club record at £30.75m, he would be instantly become a target for fans and media alike and although his first season wasn’t bad by any means, for the money we paid I think more was expected of the Bulgarian.

He was criticised for lacking passion and being lazy (something later disproved by stats) and his penalty against Everton in the FA Cup semi final drew the ire of all fans even those who had been defending him. Although he hit double figures last season, this season he vowed to show more of what he can do and he in essence he hasn’t been bad. He has again hit double figure but for some reason has failed to recapture the form that encouraged Sir Alex to spent so much on him.

These past couple of weeks in Wayne Rooney’s absence the backlash against Berbatov has grown especially as our season had faltered, his performances against Chelsea and Blackburn came under fire and it appears most if not all fans have lost patience waiting for Berbatov to come good. He himself is frank about his spell at the club saying,

“People have not have seen the real Berbatov this season. I wish I could have done more, at Spurs I scored more goals with less problems – and now at United it is very difficult for me.”

The state of our finances is a topic well discussed in the media and the fact we may have to sell before we can buy is a point raised when ever we are linked with a player so if the rumours that Bayern Munich are interested and AC Milan have offered £20m for Berbatov are true should we cut our losses?

Berbatov is a great player, his touch and link up play is sublime but as a striker I think the fact he doesn’t score enough goals is one of the primary reasons for fans anger towards him. For £30m you wouldn’t be out of order to expect at least 20 goals a season but unfortunately he hasn’t been able to hit these figures.

As I said he is a great player but he just doesn’t suit our style of play, when Wayne Rooney is out he can not be relied on to get the goals we need effectively making Wayne Rooney, a single man, our front line. He has been unfortunate in that he hasn’t had the best of support from the midfield especially when playing up top alone but nonetheless he just hasn’t been good enough.

I like him but I think if the right deal comes along, it’s is time to let him go. He hasn’t been a massive success at the club and that is unfortunate but we have to look at the needs of the club/team rather than an individual and there is no room for sentiment.