Sir Alex Ferguson insists Dimitar Berbatov will join Manchester United before the start of the season.

Standard Sport revealed at the start of the week United would seal a £28million deal once Tottenham had found a replacement.

Spurs maintain he is not for sale, yet head coach Juande Ramos yesterday couldn't guarantee the striker was staying.

The club are also closing in on Spartak Moscow's Roman Pavlyuchenko, who is valued at £12m, which would allow Berbatov to move.

Ferguson said: "We have made Tottenham an offer and we have good expectations that this deal will go through. Berbatov would be a great addition to our attack.

"We are hoping to have a constructive conversation with Tottenham in the near future."

Sunderland, meanwhile, have made a £12m bid for Spurs trio Steed Malbranque, Pascal Chimbonda and Teemu Tainio, all of whom are available for transfer.

There are unconfirmed reports that the trio have left Tottenham's training camp in Spain to sort out there futures.

It has been claimed Sunderland are also after Younes Kaboul but they will have to find another £6m to get the defender.

Manager Roy Keane has already declared an interest in signing striker Darren Bent and made a £12m offer for him last month.

Sunderland depart for a pre-season tour to Portugal today and Keane said: "The next few weeks are massive for us. This is a big summer for Sunderland. I am looking at five or six players to take us to the next level."