It is understood that Berbatov handed in his request on Friday to sporting director Damien Comolli and chairman Daniel Levy, the day before he was named on the bench in the 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough.

Earlier in the summer, Levy feared Berbatov would have a negative influence on the dressing room after making it clear he wanted to leave for Manchester United.

United had a bid of £20.5million rejected last month and have not made another formal offer, although Tottenham have insisted they do not want to sell.

However, the transfer saga has entered a crucial stage following Berbatov's request, followed by comments on his arrival for international duty.

"I'm now in Tottenham but no-one can disagree with me wanting to follow my dream," said Berbatov, who told reporters he wanted everything sorted by the end of the week. Tottenham's stance means that is unlikely to happen.

The 27-year-old, as captain of Bulgaria, was expected to fulfil media duties ahead of the friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday but did not face the cameras.

Spurs are continuing to look at forwards before the end of the transfer window. At the moment they are concentrating away from Zenit St Petersburg's Andrei Arshavin, but could return to the Russia if other avenues are blocked.

"We still have a lot of time, we will see," said Dennis Lachter, Arshavin's advisor.

Zenit claim to have lowered their asking price to below £20million, with boss Dick Advocaat needing to sell before entering the transfer market himself.