Mauricio Pochettino has admitted Tottenham Hotspur cannot compete with their Premier League rivals in the transfer market this summer.

And Pochettino has also warned that the carrot of Champions League football will not help Spurs if they go up against clubs willing to pay twice as much in wages.

While champions Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all prepare to spend £200 million on new players, runners up Tottenham are unlikely to splash out half that amount unless they sell a star man as they build a new £800m stadium.

Tottenham manager Pochettino has already drawn up a list of targets and concedes that it is not even worth trying to compete against Chelsea, United and City for the very top players.

Asked whether he has to try to identify different targets than his rivals because of the disparity in budgets, Pochettino replied: “Yes, of course.

“You know better than me how it is. It’s so difficult. People talk about if Tottenham are in the Champions League they are more attractive, but then it's about if you pay them. For top players, if some clubs are paying double salary, how are you going to convince them? I cannot cheat you, that is the reality.”