West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has revealed the club tried to sign Dimitar Berbatov from Manchester United last month but could not match Fulham’s offer for the veteran striker. Dimitar Berbatov (centre) was in high-demand (Picture: Getty Images) The 32-year-old was desperate for regular match time after falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford and sealed his return to London on transfer deadline day. A move to Serie A side Fiorentina was initially on the cards but the Bulgarian bailed on them at the last minute to pen a two-year-deal with Fulham. Former club Tottenham made a last ditch enquiry into his services and Allardyce has now confirmed West Ham were also interested, but money proved to be a stumbling block. ‘We couldn’t afford him. The problem was the transfer fee and the size of the salary was out of our domain this season in terms of our budget,’ Allardyce revealed. ‘Fulham created their own transfer funds. They knew Clint Dempsey was moving on, and one or two others, and that gave them the opportunity to go big.’ The move prompted West Ham to eventually opt for a loan deal for Liverpool’s Andy Carroll, who could be set for an early return from injury this weekend. Berbatov opened his Fulham account at the weekend with a brace against West Brom.

A news article on 2012-09-18 11:31:00 from: The Metro

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