Ferguson confirms bid for new player

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Manchester United have lodged a bid for at least one new player during this summer's transfer window but refused to reveal the identity of his number one target.

Tottenham Hotspur striker Dimitar Berbatov is believed to be the man at the top of the European Champions' shopping list and it has been widely reported in the English press that Spurs rejected a £20million bid earlier this week.

On Thursday Ferguson confirmed a bid had been lodged for an unnamed target which he hoped would lead to a successful conclusion.

'We have made a bid for one player who would enhance us a great deal,' said Ferguson.

Tottenham are holding out for more cash but whether United are prepared to go beyond the £20million that has been mentioned is doubtful.

In any case, it would be handy for Spurs to get the money in quickly as manager Juande Ramos looks to rejig his own squad, with a big-money move for David Bentley in the offing.

And on the same day that Ferguson admitted to a foray into the transfer market Ramos refused to rule out selling either Berbatov, or Robbie Keane, who is being tracked by Liverpool, and revealed that some top clubs have shown interest in the pair.

Ramos told AS: 'We will see what happens there, but we are talking about two very important players. For the moment they are with us, but whatever happens the idea is to have a great squad, with the potential to allow us to aim to improve on what we managed last season.

'We have to be realistic and see what we are starting with and who we are competing against. There are some big clubs who have spent a lot of money over many years and have a certain advantage; in fact they claim they want to sign some of our players.'

Any deal for Berbatov could move much closer over the next fortnight, although with Ferguson and chief executive David Gill both on the plane for United's tour of South Africa and Nigeria, it will be left to club solicitor Maurice Watkins, who found himself at the centre of the Carlos Tevez affair last summer, to deal with any on-the-spot issues.