A huge decision was made last week in north London when Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy decided to come out fighting and take on arguably the country's two most powerful clubs.

I for one am full of praise for Levy because whether this report is successful or it’s thrown out, a statement of intent has been made. Spurs will not be pushed around by their more successful Premier League rivals - the club have ambitions and Levy will not stand back and be bullied.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s response to the allegations that he has tapped up Dimitar Berbatov was to mock the White Hart Lane chief, claiming that it would be Tottenham who would be embarrassed and belittling Levy by referring to him as “different”.

I personally think that Fergie may have had one too many sherries leading up to this outburst! How embarrassing it must have been for Manchester United, with the world watching, to be reported for tapping up a player less then a month after they themselves took action over Real Madrid?

I think this is a moral victory for Spurs and Levy regardless of the Premier League's outcome, but where do they go from here? Seems there is a thin line between a big club and simply a feeder club, and if Spurs should sell their prized assets to their rivals it's hard to see how they can fail to fall into the category of a feeder club. They need a plan of action, they need to make a further statement of intent.

The departure of Berbatov is unavoidable - the player clearly does not want to be there - but there are many clubs that would be possible suitors other then United. In my opinion, Spurs should sell him to Barcelona for £25million and wipe out of all add-ons in the Dos Santos deal.
Manchester United looking on powerless as “their man” is put out of their reach would definitely leave the desired sour taste!

As for Robbie Keane, in my opinion Spurs should refuse to sell him to Liverpool. There are arguments that keeping a player who wants to leave would be bad for team morale, but I don’t think this would be the case with Keane. He is the kind of player to get on with it, and there is no question of him having a special place in his heart for the club.

While I do feel that the reported figure of £20m would be too good to refuse, I’m confident that the actual figure would be more realistically in the region of £14m. After refusing to sell, Spurs should actually flex some muscle of their own. Here are the facts:

1. Spurs need a new holding midfielder.

2. Aston Villa need a new centre-back and have expressed interest in Younes Kaboul.

3. Gareth Barry has burnt his bridges with Villa and is reported to be a boyhood Spurs fan.

In my opinion an offer of £13m plus Kaboul would be a great deal, This would take the transfer deal to the sum of £19m for Barry - £1m over Villa’s asking price! The deal would suit both clubs as both would benefit from the deal - not to mention have the chance to stick two fingers up at Rafa Benitez and Liverpool!