Aston Villa are believed to be close to signing former Manchester United and Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov.

It is understood Villa boss Tim Sherwood will sign the Bulgarian on the recommendation of Berbatov's close friend Stiliyan Petrov.

A source close to the negotiations reportedly told the Daily Express that a deal is imminent.

"Stiliyan knows him very well. He knows that Berbatov is still a top-class striker and he believes he can be the right man for Villa," the source said.

"They need a top striker now because they sold Christian Benteke to Liverpool.

"You don't have many strikers with experience in the Premier League available at the moment.

"I know Dimitar has offers from Germany [Werder Bremen] and Turkey but his desire is to play in England once again. His family also prefers England and this could be his last chance to play there."

Berbatov is a free agent after being released by French club Monaco.