Fiorentina in talks with Manchester United over £3m move for Dimitar Berbatov

Fiorentina are in talks with Manchester United over a £3 million move for Dimitar Berbatov - a deal that could hold the key to Manchester City’s pursuit of Stevan Jovetic.

The Italian side want to sign Berbatov as a replacement for Jovetic, who is close to a switch to City, with the clubs in advanced talks over a £23.6m deal.

City are also understood to be talking to Fiorentina about a deal for Serbian defender Matija Nastasic, who has been labelled the next Nemanja Vidic and previously been linked with United.

But the key to Jovetic’s departure from the Viola could be whether they can find an adequate replacement before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.

Berbatov is their preferred choice and the Bulgarian striker is desperate to leave United as he looks for regular football after falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

Zenit St Petersburg and Dynamo Kiev have also expressed an interest in the 31-year-old, who finished as top scorer in the Premier League two seasons ago.

Now, however, he finds himself unlikely to feature for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side as he fights for a place with Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez.

Berbatov, who cost £30.75m when he signed from Tottenham in 2008, made just 12 Premier League appearances last season, scoring seven goals.