Daniel Levy defends Tottenham's lack of transfers and claims Manchester United and City spending is not sustainable

Spurs are expected to challenge for Everton midfielder Ross Barkley now he is confirmed to be leaving

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has defended the lack of transfer activity at Spurs this summer, claiming the spending by other Premier League club is unsustainable.

More than £850m has already been spent this summer by clubs in the top flight, with Manchester United’s £75m spend on Romelu Lukaku the highest for a single player so far.

Manchester City, are responsible for nearly a quarter of the total spending by Premier League clubs so far after breaking the world record fee for a defender twice in a week – only 12 months after doing the same thing with John Stones.

Kyle Walker was the first to break it this summer, arriving from Spurs for £50m, as accountancy firm Deloitte projects the £1.165bn record for money spent on transfers during a single window in the Premier League to be shattered this summer.

But Spurs are so far yet to sign anyone and Levy, who has a strict wage structure at Spurs where players don’t earn more than £100,000-a-week, insists this sort of spending will cause headaches for clubs down the line.

“We have a duty to manage the club appropriately,” said Levy at a Nasdaq Q&A in New York.

“Some of the activity that is going on at the moment is just impossible for it to be sustainable.

“Somebody spending £200m more than they're earning, eventually it catches up with you. And you can't keep doing it.

“Our position on transfers is that we have a coach who very much believes in the academy, so unless we can find a player that makes a difference we would rather give one of our young academy players a chance.

“The academy is important because if we produce our own players we don't have to spend £20m or £30m on a player.

“An academy player has that affinity with the club and that's what the fans want to see.”