Dimitar Berbatov will complete an acrimonious move from Tottenham Hotspur to Manchester United within days after the Barclays Premier League champions finally reopened formal negotiations over the weekend. United made a second formal bid in the region of £25 million on Saturday and a deal appears imminent after Juande Ramos, the Tottenham head coach, declared that the saga must be resolved.

“It can’t last longer than a week because the transfer window closes next week [on September 1],” Ramos said. “I hope the situation is resolved before then, but there is a deadline.”

The talk of a deadline reflects Ramos’s determination to draw a line under an episode that brought further embarrassment on Saturday when he left Berbatov out of the squad for the 2-1 home defeat by Sunderland on the ground that the Bulgaria forward was psychologically unfit to play.

“After having a meeting he [Berbatov] did not find himself in the right frame of mind to play,” Gustavo Poyet, the Tottenham assistant first-team coach, said. “When the player says to the manager that he does not feel in the right condition to play a full game at this level, you don’t have any option.”

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No direct discussions had taken place for several weeks, with the clubs in contact only through intermediaries since an opening £20.5 million bid was rejected by Tottenham last month. United made a second formal bid on Saturday and, although Daniel Levy, the North London club’s executive chairman, had been holding out for a £30 million fee, an agreement is thought to be imminent. Berbatov’s absence from the squad on Saturday may impact on the fee Tottenham receive, given that the club seem to have conceded publicly that he cannot stay at White Hart Lane.

Jonathan Woodgate, the central defender, refused to blame the transfer saga for Tottenham’s poor start to the season and insisted: “A football club is bigger than one player. It’s the manager’s decision and whatever he does, we’ll back him to the hilt. He makes the decision and we’re not going to ask questions. There’s been no disruption to me. He [Berbatov] comes in and does his work but if the manager says he’s not ready, he makes the decision. It goes on in football. Man United have come in with a bid but it’s up to the chairman to do the right thing for the football club.”

Roy Keane, whose Sunderland side inflicted a second successive defeat upon Tottenham, advised Spurs not to capitulate. “You still try to do the right bit of business for the football club,” Keane said. “I don’t mean you should lose money, but you lose the player and try to get the right deal for your club. Trust me, there are not many top strikers out there, so you hold out and, eventually, these big clubs have to pay the money.”

The club came under fire from some supporters on Saturday who question a transfer policy that has left Ramos with one striker, Darren Bent, after the sale of Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe and the sulks of Berbatov. “It’s not my decision,” Ramos said. “It’s the club’s decision.”

Berbatov’s arrival at Old Trafford will delight Sir Alex Ferguson, who has been desperate to sign a top-class forward to compete with Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tévez. Louis Saha will be allowed to leave the club, with AS Roma and AS Monaco having joined Sunderland in expressing an interest, while Ferguson is waiting to hear whether Manucho, the Angola forward, will receive the work permit that he needs to play or the club.