ORLANDO -- Christian Eriksen has defended Tottenham's quiet summer in the transfer market, insisting that buying success is an English obsession that rarely works out.
Tottenham are the only Premier League club yet to make a summer signing and, while the rest of last season's top seven have all bought at least one player for more than £30 million, Spurs' only business has been to sell England right-back Kyle Walker to Manchester City for £50m.
Eriksen was one of seven new players signed for £108m in summer 2013 but, of the "Magnificent Seven," only he and Erik Lamela are still at the club.
Spurs have not made the same mistake again and the club has been reluctant to spend big under manager Mauricio Pochettino -- something Eriksen argues gives them an advantage over their more profligate rivals.
"I don't think you need to spend to win something," Eriksen said in Florida. "It's just a matter of how you see a team, how the players are. Only Walker has left in our team and we know what we did last season, so I can't see why we shouldn't be able to do hopefully even better than last season. Of course it might be different, but hopefully not.
"It's an English thing, isn't it? It's an English thing where you have to spend money to win something apparently. I read something from the gaffer where he said our club are just different compared to other clubs in that we don't spend as much money as them.
"When I came there were seven new players at the same time and you saw how that ended. Now in the last few seasons we haven't bought as many players and it's changed around. Of course you have to have a philosophy, a plan and it looks like we have one.
"If you buy a lot of players everyone needs to know what is going on straight away and be a bit lucky. We are lucky at Spurs at the moment. Everybody knows what's going on and what needs to be done. Spurs are in a lucky position."
Rather than spending, Eriksen says it is more important for the club to keep the players who finished second to Chelsea last season, ending the campaign with 11 wins from 12 games to clinch a record Premier League points total.
If they do, the playmaker, who signed a new long-term contract last season, says Spurs can go one better and win the title next season, saying "something special" is happening at the club.
"We as a team are very young and everyone has a long contract -- no one has to go away they are happy where they are," said Eriksen, who was speaking following a Q&A with young people from the Special Olympics.
"Everyone felt that last season that we were on the right road but Chelsea were just winning all those games 1-0! Of course we have the feeling something special is on the way and hopefully we can turn it around from last season and keep that same feeling as well to get the season started and be in a good shape straight away.
"I think the difference at the start of the season last season, we had a few draws in the first few games and, although we managed to turn it around, by that time Chelsea were already ahead. We need to make our own way this time -- we finished very strongly last season and we need to do that for the whole season if possible.
"Last season second place was silverware -- just not gold. We want to be on top and that's what you want to be remembered as. The team has been together for many years and we're going to go for titles. Hopefully we'll be better than the other 19 teams.
"Playing for Spurs is special. I was saying to my girlfriend on holiday that I'd just realised it is going to be my fifth season here and it's gone so quick. The first season with the new manager was different but the last three has been the same people, same staff."
And with five English clubs in the Champions League this season, Eriksen says it will be a more level playing field after Leicester and Chelsea beat Spurs to the title without playing European football.
"It will be very close this season because everyone is in Europe and everyone has to think about two or three tournaments and the top sides will want to win everything so the key is to try and keep everyone fit and sharp really," he said. "There's no advantage for any of the teams there."