Manchester United’s long-pursued target, Tottenham Hotspurs' Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, could move to United in time to appear in the very first game of the new Premiership season, which kicks off on August 16, media reports in Britain claimed.

Spurs had finally agreed to sell Berbatov “after United tabled a significantly improved offer now said to be in the region of 28 million pounds,” Agence France Press said. Spurs turned down United’s first bid of 20 million pounds, demanding no less than 30 million.

Tottenham even publicly denounced United to the Premier League because of its ongoing courtship of Berbatov. “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 [on August 12],” The Times reported.

Most reports suggest he will be a United player in time for Manchester United’s first Premier League match against Newcastle on August 17, AFP said.

One paper that claimed Berbatov was on the edge of signing for United was Daily Mail. The newspaper reported that “Berbatov is expected to agree personal terms and seal his £25million move to Manchester United.” The striker was due at United's Carrington training centre after finally being given permission by Tottenham Hotspur to talk to the Manchester club.

Berbatov would be offered a four-year deal worth in the region of £80 000 weekly. “United hope he will appear on their official pre-season team photo, scheduled to be taken on Friday [August 15],” the newspaper said.

After 18 months of pursuit, Ferguson was close to make true his dream attacking line-up including Berbatov, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo when the latter two regain health and fitness.

Meanwhile, Daily Mail reported that preparing for Berbatov’s departure to Man Utd, Tottenham’s manager Juande Ramos was exploring the possibility of bringing former Tottenham striker Fredi Kanoute back to the team. “Spurs will finally sell Berbatov to Manchester United and Ramos has urged sporting director Damien Comolli to sign the Sevilla striker,” the newspaper said.

Berbatov scored 23 goals in each of his two seasons with Tottenham, which he joined from Bayer Leverkusen for 10.9 million pounds in 2006. It was reported at the time that United had made a last-ditch attempt to hijack the deal, but Berbatov decided to stick with Tottenham, which at that time showed more dedication in pursuing his services.