Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou insists the club will only sign players who have his approval as Spurs near £45m deal for his No 1 target Brennan Johnson

Ange Postecoglou has promised Tottenham will not be signing any players who do not have his seal of approval.

With Spurs in pursuit of various options on transfer deadline day, including Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest for £50million, the new Spurs boss insisted the club’s deal-clinchers are fully aware of his demands and expectations.

This despite the fact Postecoglou’s predecessor Antonio Conte claimed Djed Spence, signed last year for £20million from Middlesbrough, was a ‘club signing’.

Spence barely played under Conte, went on loan to Rennes in January and has recently signed on loan for Leeds United.

‘I don’t know what club signings means,’ said Postecoglou. ‘I would never approve a signing that I didn’t think was going to fit into way we want to play. When the club appoint a senior manager and you give him the responsibility of charting a course then you need to give him players that will suit the way he wants to play.

Spurs are on the verge of completing a £45m deal to sign Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest

‘I think the evidence so far, with the players we’ve brought in, is that they’ve all made an impact which shows that the brief is there that we’re looking for players who will play the football and will fit into the system that I want to play.

‘I wouldn’t have a massive say over are signings that at the academy level and rightly so. If the club feels they identify someone with real potential for the future then they should go about doing that.

‘The evidence we have so far though is the players we’ve brought in and you can see that they have been aligned with my vision for the club.’

Johnson’s pace, energy and versatility, able to play across the front line, will appeal to Postecoglou and, at 22, he will help Spurs bring down the age of their squad and address a diminishing quota of homegrown players.

‘I’m not in the loop until things concluded,’ said Postecoglou when asked about Johnson. ‘It’s not my place to talk about potential players in or out. In nine or 10 hours we’ll find out and go from there.’

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has rejected a move to Fulham, which could have a knock-on effect on Tottenham’s bid to sign Conor Gallagher.

Japhet Tanganga is expected to complete a move to Augsburg, which may help Spurs step up their efforts to sign Lloyd Kelly from Bournemouth.

Former Spurs boss Antonio Conte once described £20m Djed Spence as a ‘club signing’