Tottenham Hotspur fans may feel pessimistic, but if they are thinking that the glass is half-empty, at least the club’s bank account looks pretty full. About £20 million for a 28-year-old — that is not a bad deal. Of course, it would be a huge blow were Dimitar Berbatov to follow Robbie Keane out of the club, but again, it would be for a hefty fee that could be put to good use.

It is clear that the forward line must be restocked, but there is also a need for a centre back, given the fitness doubts over Ledley King. And there is no guarantee that the Keane and Berbatov pairing that was so effective for two years would have been as good this season once the interest from Liverpool and Manchester United became clear.

Berbatov may be tempted to cite Keane’s departure as another reason why he should be allowed to go, but it makes no difference. When a club such as United leave the door ajar, any player will want to walk through. Would it be better to sell Berbatov now for £25 million rather than let him sulk his way through the season?

Few are tipping Tottenham to break into the Champions League places this year. It is hard to predict how they will do. But if they are no longer talked up as top-four contenders, at least they can be described as a club with money, potential and a capable manager. There is no doubt that Juande Ramos faces a stiff challenge, but he can cope.

In general, foreign managers are very good at using the transfer market, better than British managers, although David Moyes, Harry Redknapp and Sir Alex Ferguson have made clever buys in recent years. Foreign managers tend to be better at finding talent that is good value and can improve, while British managers often simply buy overseas players who have been recommended by trusted agents.

These managers tend recklessly to grab talented players, regardless of how well they may fit into the team, while on the Continent, managers tend to look at the wider picture and buy players to do specific jobs. Right from his arrival in North London, Ramos has seemed methodical and thorough, so it would not be a surprise if he had privately made plans in case Keane left.

It is not as if bigger clubs circling his best players is new to the Spaniard — he had it at Seville, his previous club. They are of a similar size to Tottenham, who face the same challenge: breaking into the Champions League places on a lower budget than the top teams. Ramos is not naive — the reality is, you cannot keep your best players if you fail as badly as Tottenham did in the league last season.

The fury of Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, at Liverpool and United for eyeing his strikers is laughable because this sort of thing is routine. Clubs ruthlessly feed on others farther down the food chain and do whatever it takes to get their targets. Levy did not complain earlier this month when a tribunal said that Tottenham had to pay only £700,000 for John Bostock, a ridiculously low sum that had Simon Jordan, the Crystal Palace owner, sounding as unhappy with the transfer system as Levy is now.

While Ramos works out how to cope with life after Keane, Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, has to decide how to use him. I suspect that Benítez will emulate United and put three men in attack and midfield. That will mean sacrificing wingers, but they did not really work for him, even with Peter Crouch to aim for. Keane, Fernando Torres, perhaps Dirk Kuyt — the front line will be about movement, using the width of the pitch. It is a sophisticated style that should help Liverpool to score goals against the better teams — the quality of team that Tottenham are desperate to be.