Tottenham adviser David Pleat has hailed the overhaul of their scouting system.

Pleat says the club's talent spotting is now world class.

"Where they have done brilliantly, everyone at Tottenham, is giving the youngsters the opportunity to play," Pleat told Sky Sports. "They can't just go out and buy £50m-£60m players.

"It isn't easy but Tottenham have been building slowly and the signs are good. It's a better way of doing things if you feel you've got longevity with certain players, and young players, and if staff are making the commitment for a long time.

"In the past you look maybe four or five times at a player and certainly the manager himself will have had a look himself, unless he is really inept. Now it's more modern, tracking players.

"I went to Kiev many years ago and saw their unbelievable scouting system, where three guys, almost 24 hours a day, were watching almost every game going on around the world. That was in Ukraine and now this country is getting along the same lines. The scouting is getting more sophisticated.

"But it's very difficult to compare Tottenham's with other clubs, unless you're inside those four walls. People say, 'Oh this club's all over the place, that club is bad at this'. All I can say is that Tottenham's is being run very smoothly and they're happy with it."