Club legend Graham Roberts reckons Tottenham Hotspur failed to make a late move for Noni Madueke because they were not willing to fork out a large fee for a former academy product.

Madueke has caught the eye of numerous clubs during the early weeks of the new season, with Spurs, Manchester United and Bayern Munich among his admirers.

The 19-year-old came through the ranks at Spurs and Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven, Madueke's current employers, reportedly told the north Londoners it would cost £40million to seal his return just two years after leaving for free.

Madueke, who has already been capped at England under-21 level, has made a flying start to the new campaign and scored six goals in 10 outings.

Spurs' London rivals Chelsea forked out a club-record £97.5million to seal Romelu Lukaku's return to Stamford Bridge during the transfer window, but Roberts believes Spurs were unwilling to follow suit and part with a huge fee for their former winger.

Roberts exclusively told The Transfer Tavern: "Chelsea let Lukaku go and then paid £97.5million to get him back. I wasn't 100 per cent sure on Madueke coming back."