Dimitar Berbatov To Be Used As Bait To Land Luka Modric?

Manchester United will trigger a one-year contract extension clause in Dimitar Berbatov’s contract this week, but could then use him as bait to land Tottenham’s Luka Modric in the summer, according to Goal.com.

Berbatov’s contract expires in the summer and United have till the end of the week to trigger a clause that will extent it by a further 12 months. Once triggered the Red Devils won’t lose the striker for nothing in the summer, when it’s expected Berbatov will leave Old Trafford, and they will be able to demand a fee for his signature.

Goal.com claim that United value the 31-year-old at between £6-£8m and will attempt to use the Bulgarian as bait to sign long-term target Luka Modric from Spurs this summer.

The report suggests that while Tottenham don’t want to sell Modric, they may struggle to reject a bid in excess of £40m. That sort of fee is beyond United’s reach though, so they hope that by including former-Spurs favourite Berbatov in the deal, they will be able to negotiate a more attainable price for Modric.

Should this swap-deal go through, it would be something of a coup for both United and Tottenham. Modric remains a target for Chelsea, so should Fergie be able to bring him to Old Trafford he would certainly have got one-up on the Blues.

While Berbatov is struggling to break into the United first team, there is little doubt he is still a fine footballer who will be on the wish-list of many European clubs in the summer. It would obviously be a huge blow if Spurs were to lose Modric, but getting last seasons Premier League top-scorer in return as well as a large fee wouldn’t be the worst piece of business for the Londoners.

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