Berbatov The Main Man

Oliver Wright; author of 'From the Lane' is surprised to see that Berbatov is still at White Hart Lane.

It has been an interesting couple of weeks in the transfer market for Spurs, with several players heading out the exit door, Bentley arriving and the usual barrage of European names being linked with the club. With just a week left until the season kicks off, however, the main surprise of the summer has been a certain Bulgarian's failure to leave the Lane.

At the end of last season, the one transfer deal every Spurs fan expected to happen was one to take Dimitar Berbatov away from Whilte Hart Lane. However, the anticipated flood of bids from Europe's top clubs never materialised, with Manchester United seemingly the only club interested enough to make a formal bid. As Levy has priced him out of a move to Old Trafford and no other offers are currently on the table, it looks like Berbatov will be lining up in a Spurs shirt for the season's opener at Middlesbrough after all.

Following the unexpected departure of Robbie Keane, this is great news for Spurs fans. At least one of the lethal strike pairing remains, and possibly the most effective one in Ramos's new plans. Even more encouraging is possibility that Berbatov may even have had a change of heart about his future.

Although he finished last season in an even more sulking mood than usual, the regular claims from his agent that he wans to leave appear to have ceased. Maybe Ramos and Poyet have worked some magic, or maybe he has realised himself that he's on to a pretty good thing at Spurs.

Berbatov should be looking forward to the new season at Tottenham, and here's why: with Ramos evidently looking to play a lone striker supported by a five-man midfield, Dimitar could be the spearhead of the team. One of his main frustrations last season was the players behind him not being quick enough or good enough to play the right ball to him. This season, however, with Bentley, Modric and dos Santos pulling the strings in midfleld, there's every chance he could have his most successful season yet at the club and score the goals that bring another trophy to White Hart Lane.

Oliver Wright is the author of fan autobiography, From the Lane, available from http://www.fromthelanebook.co.uk/, amazon.co.uk, other online retailers and Waterstone's high street stores.