Tottenham Hotspur have accepted the transfer offer made Manchester City for Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, City manager Mark Hughes told Sky Sports News on September 1. Hughes is set to meet the striker later in the day, now that a fee has been agreed.

"I'm as stunned and excited by this as the fans are," Sky Sports News quoted the Welshman as saying.

The audacious bid comes just hours after the club has been taken over by Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment, the company owned by the Abu Dhabi royal family. City confirmed that a memorandum of understanding has been signed for the sale of chairman Thaksin Shinawatra's stake, just one year after the former Thai prime minister bought the club.

The transfer fee is believed to be in excess of the £30 million (34.5 million euro) price tag Spurs placed on the Bulgarian. Broadsheet The Guardian reported that City offered £34 million (41.9 million euro), which would set a new British transfer record should a deal be finalised before the end of the summer transfer window at midnight on September 1.

If the deal goes through, it would sorely rile city rivals United, who have pursued Berbatov since the start of the summer, but were unwilling to offer more than £25 million (30.8 million euro) for the striker.

Lured to City by the chance of furthering his managerial credentials, former United stalwart Hughes is firmly behind the attempt to sign Berbatov, accordinng to The Times. However, the Blues harboured little hope of persuading Berbatov to join them in favour of United, the newspaper said.

It appears unlikely that the will settle for a move to another team playing in the Uefa Cup, having described a transfer to United and playing in the Champions league as "a dream" earlier this month.

In the meantime, Spurs have confirmed two major signings on September 1, but there were no news on the status of the talks on Berbatov's future early in the day.

Tottenham have finalised the transfers of Spartak Moscow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko for £14 million (17.3 million euro) and defender Vedran Corluka from Manchester City for £8.5 million (10.5 million euro). The duo will replace Robbie Keane, who left for Liverpool in a £20 million deal (25 million euro), and Pascal Chimbonda, who moved to Sunderland for an undisclosed amount.

Spurs, however, did not appear any closer to signing a second striker, which White Hart Lane officials have said to be a pre-requisite for letting Berbatov go.