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West Ham & Crystal Palace set to battle it out for freebie Berbatov

| 31.01.2017

It’s been a strange old transfer window for West Ham United. They brought in Jose Fonte and Robert Snodgrass and lost Dimitri Payet to Marseille. They also threw in a cheeky £5m bid for Sunderland forward Jermain Defoe.

But if you thought Slaven Bilic’s transfer business was complete, you might want to strap yourselves in for one of the most Deadline Day-esque signings of all-time…

It was reported earlier this morning that the Hammers were weighing up a move for freebie Dimitar Berbatov.

And while we initially thought it was nonsense – our traders have just made the east London outfit clear favourites at 7/4 for his signature.

If you’re still unsure whether to believe us, it’s worth noting that former Hammer Demba Ba (yep, Demba Ba) was approached this morning about a potential return before signing for Besiktas.

But it’s thought Bilic will face stiff competition from Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce – who is 7/2 to land the forward.

Berbatov is the perfect fit for a Big Sam side, and he’s proved so many times over the years his physical presence is a threat to any back four.

But, of course, a lot has changed since the 6ft 2in striker was in England.

So can the Bulgarian still cut it in the Premier League?

Berba scored his last top-flight goal in this country some three years ago.

He was 32 then.

He decided to leave Fulham following their relegation to the Championship, and the goals have dried up.

In fact, since the beginning of the 2013-14 campaign, Berbatov has scored just 17 league goals.

To put that into context, Andy Carroll has scored four more than that – and he’s been out for roughly two years on the sidelines in that time.

Can he do a job? Probably, but he’s so far past his best years – the campaign in which he netted 20 goals for Manchester United seems like a distant memory.

It’s far from the huge signing they were hoping for, but supporters may have to get used to the thought of Dimitar Berbatov plying his trade at the London Stadium.

Click here for a full list of Deadline Day odds.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing

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Author

Alex Apati

Alex has been with the Ladbrokes PR team since 2017 having previously worked for the news department. From sparring with Peter Fury to talking interviews on the Duke and Duchess' baby names, he's covered a range of sports and novelty events.

A frustrated West Brom fan who is no stranger to an oche, Alex is originally from Dudley, although he's worked hard to rid himself of the Black Country twang.