The Sun says Jol stunned club chairman Daniel Levy last week by wanting to sell his star striker.

And it was Jol's astonishing outburst which prompted Levy to sound out Seville coach Juande Ramos about taking over at White Hart Lane.

Matters came to a head when Jol hauled off last season's 23-goal top scorer Berbatov during the 1-0 opening-day defeat at Sunderland.

Berbatov reacted angrily to the decision, prompting Jol to seek a meeting with Levy on the following Monday to demand the Bulgarian hitman's sale.

Jol argued Berbatov, a £10.9million signing from Bayer Leverkusen last year, was not a team player and had to go.

But Levy, who has already rejected a bid from Manchester United for the 26-year-old player, insisted that Berbatov is staying.