Manchester United step up their pursuit of Berbatov

Manchester United will hold further negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur today over the possible transfer of Dimitar Berbatov. Despite having had an opening offer in excess of £20 million rejected, United hope to reach an agreement with Tottenham for the Bulgaria forward.

Ferguson and his players depart for a preseason tour to South Africa tomorrow and would like Berbatov to join them at some point on the trip. Another priority for Ferguson is to appoint a new assistant manager after Carlos Queiroz’s departure to take charge of Portugal. Three of his coaching staff, René Meulensteen, Mike Phelan and Brian McClair, are contenders for the job, although Ferguson is keeping an open mind with regard to possible external candidates.

Distin pays penalty

Sylvain Distin was fined £2,000 yesterday for failing to attend the aborted assault trial of Joey Barton, his former Manchester City team-mate. The Portsmouth defender was also warned that he could have faced a jail term if his absence had led to a delay in court proceedings, which Judge Mushtaq Khokhar said would have been the case had Barton not changed his plea to guilty.

Distin, 30, witnessed the training-ground fracas in which Barton attacked Ousmane Dabo last May, but ignored a summons to appear in court and flew to Crete for a holiday before the hearing at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on June 30.

Platini wants wage cap

Clubs could face limits on the amount they spend on players’ salaries under proposals outlined to European ministers by Michel Platini, the Uefa president. Platini spoke of the need to have “the means to develop better control of clubs’ spending” through limiting their total wage bill to a fixed percentage of their income — between 55 per cent and 65 per cent — but this move would only be taken with the clubs’ agreement.

Button undone

David Button, the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, endured a difficult afternoon as England opened their European Under-19 Championship campaign with a 2-0 defeat by the Czech Republic in Jablonec, despite the host team having two men sent off. Button erred for Tomas Necid’s opening goal and the striker added his second soon after. England need to beat Italy on Thursday to have any hope of reaching the knockout stages.

Moyes in for long haul

David Moyes, the Everton manager, confirmed yesterday that talks have opened about a lucrative new long-term contract and he is confident that the matter will reach a swift conclusion. Moyes flew back to England to meet Bill Kenwright, the Everton chairman, after the 1-0 pre-season friendly defeat by FC Sion in Switzerland on Saturday. “We’ve started talks and we’re hoping things will be wrapped up quickly,” Moyes said.