Tottenham Hotspur FC

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Levy defends striker sales

03 Sep 2008 - 08:33:01

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Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy insists the club were right to sell Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane this summer once both players had expressed their desire to leave White Hart Lane.

Bulgaria international Berbatov moved to Old Trafford on transfer deadline day for £30.75million and was left out of coach Juande Ramos' first-team plans for two games, because of concerns about his state of mind.

Keane joined Liverpool earlier in the summer, but Levy says both transfers were done in the long-term interests of the club.

He told Spurs' official website: "The decisions we took to allow the transfers of Berbatov and Keane were made after close discussions with the coaching staff.

"Juande was clear, and I believe correct, in not wishing to embrace any player within the dressing room that had no desire to play for the badge of this club and for his team-mates.

"Under these circumstances we had no option but to sell these players.

"There are no guarantees in football and this summer we found ourselves having to deal with the unexpected challenge of both our leading goalscorers making it clear they wished to leave the club.

"I have already stated my opinion on the manner in which our players were approached and the nature of the negotiations surrounding Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov.

"Monday's events were further evidence of the need for the Premier League to review the system. I have also previously said that we had no need to sell players on long contracts - this no longer remains practical.

"But I cannot deny that I share with the fans a disappointment that we couldn't add further to replace attacking options."