Juande Ramos today hinted that Dimitar Berbatov will be sold to Manchester United within 48 hours.

Berbatov is close to completing his move from Tottenham to Old Trafford in a £28million deal.

While Ramos repeatedly refused to be drawn on the Bulgarian's future, he did admit the 27-year-old may not play against Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Head coach Ramos said: "Forty-eight hours is a long time. There are two days to go before the game and a lot can happen.

"I will look at the team during the training sessions, I will see how Dimitar is in training and I will make the decision based on that."

Ramos insisted he was keen for Berbatov, who would prefer to leave the club, to stay at White Hart Lane.

But he admitted Spurs were trying to put in place contingency plans to replace him should, as expected, Berbatov end his two-year stay in north London.

Ramos added: "Any manager wants the top players at their club and it is no different with Dimitar.

"We want him here. But we have performed very well with our current squad in recent friendlies from an attacking point of view.

"However, we are aware that there are only two weeks until the transfer window closes and a new signing is something we are working on constantly."

Ramos remained tight-lipped about the prospects of former Spurs striker Freddie Kanoute and Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin joining the club.