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FERDINAND WORRIED OVER SPURS' OPTIONS
Keane and Berbatov have been linked with moves.
Former Tottenham striker Les Ferdinand believes Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane will set the Champions League alight next season if they leave White Hart Lane.
Keane looks set to leave for Liverpool after getting omitted from a friendly in Spain this week, while Manchester United are interested in Berbatov.
Spurs would prefer selling Berbatov to a foreign club but the bottom line is they have accepted their two main strikers want to depart this summer, leaving Darren Bent as the main forward for head coach Juande Ramos.
Ferdinand, who played for Spurs between 1997 and 2003, admits Berbatov and Keane may be irreplaceable.
"As a former player and a fan it worries me because all we hear about is the big players like the Berbatovs and the Keanes perhaps leaving and we are not hearing about replacements.
"I don't think they can afford to sell both of them. If they both leave then Spurs are left with Darren Bent. I do think Darren is a good player but his career hasn't started off well at Spurs.
"If you lose those two players you are losing 40-odd goals a season. How do you replace that? We don't even know who Ramos is thinking about.
"I do like the new manager and I think he has some great ideas but it just worries me at this stage that there is not more positivity coming out of Spurs instead of negativity.
"He may have some strong ideas and may need the Keane and the Berbatov money to be able to go out and get who he wants but they won't be proven in the Premier League when these two are."
Spurs have been linked with Russian forwards Andrei Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko, and they are also aware of the availability of Valencia's David Villa.
Ferdinand added: "I have got to be honest, I would prefer to see the two front boys not go rather than bringing in anyone else because anyone that comes in will need that settling in period.
"We know how tough the Premier League is. There haven't been that many strikers who have come in and hit the ground running. Fernando Torres did it, and Ruud van Nistelrooy did it but Roque Santa Cruz and Carlos Tevez needed time as did Dennis Bergkamp. There is no guarantee they will hit the ground running."
Berbatov was rated as one of the best players not featuring in the Champions League last season, while Keane's consistency had him tipped to feature in Europe's top competition.
"They could definitely do well in the Champions League straight away," Ferdinand added.
"Berbatov is a class act and hit the ground running when he first came here. And I have always said about Robbie Keane since he came to Tottenham that he is one of the players I would happily pay to watch."
Hope for Spurs lies with £16.5million signing Luka Modric, and Ferdinand feels he could shine if he gets to grips with the physical side of the Premier League.
He added: "He looks a really good player but he is 5ft 6ins or 5ft 7ins and he is coming into the toughest league in the world so I would like to see how well he copes with that.
"That is always the question when you bring in foreign players."
