"I am joining Spurs," the 26-year-old insisted on Tuesday night. "I can confirm that I am joining Spurs."

"Right now I am getting my visa. As soon as it is ready I will fly to London to sign a contract."

He added: "I will not play in Kiev. Everything has happened very quickly so I could not even say goodbye to my team-mates.

"The only thing that stopped me from leaving was my family.

"But now all doubts are behind me and I decided to sign a contract with Tottenham and the formalities are practically settled."

Spartak's general manager Valery Karpin admitted Spurs' offer had been accepted by the Russian club.

"There is a concrete sum which Tottenham proposed and we have agreed the amount," he told the Soviet Sport newspaper.

"If Roman will agree a contract then we are ready to let go him go. If Roman begins to play in England, this will be good both for him and for the team."