Dimitar Berbatov says Manchester United s history and tradition made it easy to dismiss a lucrative offer to join Manchester City in 2008.

Ex-Bulgaria international Berbatov won two Premier League titles in four seasons at Old Trafford after signing for a reported £30million from Tottenham.

He featured in the Champions League final loss to Barcelona in his debut campaign and went on to become a fan favourite, although the 37-year-old claims he could well have turned out for United s crosstown rivals.

Approached amid an overhaul that saw Robinho, Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta head to the Etihad Stadium, Berbatov insists he only ever had eyes for Alex Ferguson s side.

I don t think it was that close, to be honest, the striker told FourFourTwo. My age…

New Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo wants to build on Steve Cooper’s legacy at the City Ground.

The Portuguese has returned to English football after two years away following Cooper’s sacking on Tuesday, which came after a run of one win in 13 Premier League games.

Cooper was the man to end Forest’s 23-year exile from the top flight, taking them from the bottom of the Championship to promotion in nine months, while also delivering generation-defining runs in the FA Cup and League Cup.

First presser

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC)

And Nuno, who says that owner Evangelos Marinakis has not put any expectations on him, wants to be the man to take the club to the next level.

“We didn’t mark ourselves to expectations. That�…

Frank Lampard is not looking beyond the end of his caretaker spell with Chelsea and said he is focused on immediate results after making a sensational return to the Stamford Bridge dugout.

The Blues have reappointed their ex-manager and legendary midfielder on an interim basis following Graham Potter s dismissal earlier this month.

As Todd Boehly steps up his pursuit of a long-term successor, Lampard s return could well double as a fairy-tale audition for his old job on a permanent basis.

However, the 44-year-old insists he is not getting ahead of himself following his return.

I m a very practical person, he said. To come back in a time where the club has asked me, I m delighted to get the opportunity, and I m thankful for that.

I think the role…

Verdict: Both teams to score – yes

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A look at the Premier League table can be quite deceiving ahead of the Saturday’s clash between Watford and Crystal Palace at Vicarage Road. Both sides appear to be edging away from the relegation zone but their survival hopes will very much depend on the outcome of this forthcoming fixture.

Watford

The Hornets are currently sitting in a relatively comfortable 12th place but with only three points above Crystal Palace and without a single win in their last five league matches, they are expected to put in their all to try and win the much-needed three points against Eagles.

Javier Garcia’s men last won on 3 March when they managed to dispatch the relegation-bound WBA 1-0, court…

Unai Emery praised Jhon Duran’s attitude as the striker scored again in Aston Villa’s 2-1 victory away to Leicester.

Duran was the subject of heavy interest during the transfer window, with both West Ham and Chelsea reported to be interested in signing the Colombian.

But the 20-year-old remained at the club and has scored two goals in the first three games of the season, having scored the winner on the opening day against West Ham, and Emery reserved praise for Duran after the victory over Leicester.

The Spaniard said: He is focused, I didn t need to speak a lot about his future [during the window]. He is focused here. He has trained very well and is playing very well, doing the work we planned. He is scoring goals. Fantastic.

Heading into the intern…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 4/7 @

In what could prove to be an action-packed A-League showdown on Saturday morning, Newcastle will welcome Western United to the McDonald Jones Stadium.

Starting with the hosts, while Newcastle might have claimed a stunning 3-0 romp away at Wellington earlier in the month, the Jets have drastically struggled to find any kind of stability this season. Last seen putting in another worrying performance as they suffered a 3-1 drumming at the hands of Adelaide, it appears almost certain that Robert Santon’s side are destined for another bottom-half struggle in the New Year. Opening December with a 2-0 defeat against Melbourne City, Saturday’s hosts have recorded just a single win from any of their previous five A-League showd…

Trabzonspor and Daniel Sturridge have reached a mutual agreement for the three-year contract signed last summer to be terminated, the Turkish club have confirmed.

Having started his career with Manchester City, the striker also played for Chelsea before spending six and a half years at Liverpool during which he bagged 67 goals in 160 appearances for the Reds. His best season by far was 2013/14, when his 21 league strikes and the formidable partnership he had formed with Luis Suarez brought the current Premier League leaders very close to the title. Injuries greatly limited his contribution in the years that followed, and he was allowed to leave as a free agent when his contract expired last summer.

Having joined Trabzonspor, he netted seven goals in 13 games for the Sup…

Zlatan Ibrahimovic marked his first day back at Milan with a goal in a 9-0 friendly thrashing of Rhodense.

The 38-year-old striker was presented to fans and the media on Friday after rejoining the club on a free transfer following his departure from LA Galaxy.

The striker trained with his team-mates for the first time at Milanello before playing in an exhibition game against Rhodense, a team in Italy s fifth tier.

Ibrahimovic scored his side s third goal of the game, tapping in from close range to make it 3-0 after Davide Calabria s early double.

Hakan Calhanoglu, Lucas Paqueta, Rafael Leao, Samu Castillejo and a Krzysztof Piatek double completed the scoring.

Ibrahimovic, a Serie A champion with Milan in 2010-11 in his first spell with the club, c…

Kyle Walker was not involved as Manchester City held an open training session on Tuesday ahead of the Champions League final.

The England full-back was substituted in the latter stages of City’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester United at Wembley on Saturday.

All other players were present as City continued preparations for the encounter with Inter Milan in Istanbul this weekend.

Pep Guardiola said at a press conference later in the afternoon that Walker had sat out the session to avoid aggravating a back problem.

The City boss said: “He has had a little bit of a disturbance in his back.

“Yesterday he was not good, today he was a little bit better but we didn’t want to take any risks. We will see in the next days.”

Guardiola r…

Romelu Lukaku scored a double to guide Inter into the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia as they breezed to a 4-1 win over Cagliari.

Lukaku is enjoying an excellent first season with the Nerazzurri following his move from Manchester United and went into Tuesday s clash at San Siro with 16 goals in 24 games in all competitions.

He added to that tally with a goal in each half against a Cagliari side an impressive sixth in Serie A despite a poor run of form, needing only 21 seconds to open the scoring after Christian Oliva inadvertently played him through on goal.

His goals were sandwiched by a tap-in from Borja Valero and Antonio Conte s Serie A challengers were rarely threatened until Oliva atoned for his earlier error with an emphatically taken consolation.