The spending by Premier League clubs in the current transfer window is unsustainable, Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy said on Tuesday.

English top-flight teams have splashed out more than $1 billion since the end of last season but Spurs, runnerup to Chelsea in May, have not yet added to their squad.

"Some of the activity that is going on at the moment is just impossible for it to be sustainable," Levy said in New York.

"We have a duty to manage the club appropriately. Somebody spending $250 million more than they're earning, eventually it catches up with you."

Spurs, who sold England rightback Kyle Walker to Manchester City for $58.6 million this month, are building a new 61,000-seater stadium.

"We have to find the right balance but I can honestly say it (the stadium) is not impacting us on transfer activity because we are not yet in a place where we have found a player that we want to buy who we cannot afford to buy," Levy said.

"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."

Tottenham is putting faith in its youth set-up.

"An academy player has an affinity with the club and that's what fans want to see," Levy added.

Reuters