Ramos warning over star strikers

Spanish sources also revealed that Barcelona are considering a late move to hijack Berbatov's switch to Old Trafford as they have given up hope of signing Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor because he is too expensive.

Both the Bulgarian and Keane are taking part in a pre-season training camp with the rest of Spurs' first-team squad in Spain, but head coach Ramos can't promise they will still be at the club at the end of the transfer window.

The Spaniard said: "We're going to see how this ends, but we're speaking about two very important footballers.

"For the moment they are with us, but whatever happens our plan is to have a good squad with a potential that helps us to do better than last year.

"At Tottenham we have had a clear philosophy regarding buying and selling for years.

"You need to understand that this club is in the transfer market, a company that needs to debrief at the end of the financial year.

"The idea is signing young players, promising and talented ones, and if important offers for older players are made, studying it to see what is the best for the club."

Spurs are close to breaking the £100m barrier on player spending over the past 12 months and are still hoping to complete a £15m deal for Blackburn's former Arsenal winger David Bentley.

The club continue to insist neither Berbatov nor Keane is for sale, but they may need to bring some money in to finance more transfers.

Barcelona are long-term admirers of Berbatov, but have made Adebayor their priority this summer until now.

Arsenal have been asking for as much as £36m for Adebayor which is significantly higher than the mooted fee for Berbatov.

Keane grew up as a Liverpool fan and is flattered by manager Rafael Benitez's interest although, unlike Berbatov, he is not so determined to leave White Hart Lane.

Ramos insists that, whatever the make-up of his forward line, Tottenham will be aiming to break into the top four next season.

He added: "We have to be realistic, see where we start from and who is going to compete with us.

"Important clubs have been spending a lot of money for years and have a certain advantage, that's why they say they want to sign our players.

"Obviously we understand there's a top four composed of Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, who are the ones that qualified for the Champions League in the last few years and challenging them is very complicated.

"Our aim is to finish in this top four, but we are aware of the fact it's difficult and that other teams will fight for the same goal."