Ex-Chelsea midfielder Tiago is nearly a Spur

Chairman Daniel Levy and director of football Damien Comolli have agreed a fee with Juventus and set off to Italy to negotiate the wages on offer. The player wants £50,000 and Spurs are expected to agree personal terms in the next 24 hours.

Former Chelsea midfielder Tiago, 26, is an attacking midfielder with a good scoring record and his capture will launch a spending spree at White Hart Lane that could see the club splash out £25m. The bidding for England winger Stewart Downing has reached £10m, with Tottenham moving closer to Middlesbrough's valuation.

Rangers full back Alan Hutton is expected to make up the hat-trick of fresh talent, with Pascal Chimbonda, wanted by Newcastle, among the players available for sale.

A busy end to the month will come as an extra bonus to Tottenham fans, still revelling in Tuesday's 5-1 Carling Cup semifinal drubbing of Arsenal and further boosted yesterday by the clearest indication yet from Dimitar Berbatov that he will be going nowhere this month.

Berbatov is predicting good times at White Hart Lane are just around the corner. Spurs fans have been in a state of panic that the Bulgaria striker would be on his way this month. But it seems the chance to play at Wembley has banished such fears.

Berbatov said: "Wembley is a legendary stadium and I'm looking forward to playing there. I have always wanted to go there and watch a game, but it's another thing to go there and play."

Perhaps even more satisfying for Spurs fans than the fulfilment of a personal ambition for Berbatov were his words praising the team spirit created by manager Juande Ramos.

"It was unbelievable," said a delighted Berbatov. "We played like a great team against a great football team. We deserved the win and now we are going to the Final. 'We showed if we play like that, we have a great future. We showed against a very good Arsenal team with great players that we were above them and wanted the win more than they did.

"I'm not surprised how quickly the manager has turned things around because he is a great man. The way he talks with us and works with us, we see we can go places."

Berbatov may have opted to go along for the ride but it seems there will be no place on Ramos's magical mystery tour for out-of-favour goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who sloped off down the tunnel rather than join his team-mates in a lap of honour.

Others will soon find their places under threat, with Ramos determined to build on the solid foundations laid down since taking over from Martin Jol.

Sunday's FA Cup fourth round match against Manchester United at Old Trafford will serve as a barometer as to whether Tuesday's triumph was a flash in the pan.

Confidence is justifiably high. Berbatov said: "If we play like that, they will have difficulties against us. We showed this club can challenge for trophies. If we believe in our quality, it doesn't matter who we play."