One of the less remarked on changes Mauricio Pochettino has made at White Hart Lane is in the quality of the preseason friendlies. One can only imagine he was less than impressed by the summer fixture list of three friendlies against Major League Soccer teams followed by games against Celtic and Schalke that greeted his arrival at the club, because since then the calibre of opposition has stepped up again.
In the 2015-16 preseason, Tottenham lined up against Real Madrid and AC Milan in front of sell-out crowds of 70,000 in Munich. Last year's preseason saw Spurs take on Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan and this year they have headed off to America where they will play Paris Saint-Germain, Roma and Manchester City before flying home to take on Juventus at Wembley in the final week before the new season.
While no one would claim these matches will be played with the intensity of a competitive fixture, they will still be hard fought. The higher the quality of opposition, the more personal pride is at stake. Though fans may not be too bothered by the results of games in which nothing is at stake, the players are if they are up against the best in the world. There's also likely to be a bit of an edge in the Manchester City game with Kyle Walker going all out to prove he is worth £50 million and that Spurs have made a major error by letting him go.
Traditionally, preseason tours have also been as much about team building as the games. It's a chance for new signings to be introduced to the squad and for everyone to be familiarised with each other's style of play. But as Spurs have yet to sign anyone, Tottenham's North American tour will be more a gathering of old faces.
Indeed, while other top six Premier League clubs have been spending big money on marquee signings, it is arguably Spurs who have had the best preseason simply by virtue of having done nothing.
With Manchester United finally appearing to have got the message that Eric Dier is not for sale at any price, it looks as if key players Hugo Lloris, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Dier, Victor Wanyama, Mousa Dembele, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Harry Kane will be staying at the club for another year, if not two.
Spurs are a club in which ambition and sense of purpose is almost tangible. They have the air of a team that believes it is still getting better. So whatever happens at Wembley in the coming year, what player wouldn't want to be part of a team that moves into the new stadium at the start of the 2018-19 season? Pochettino has achieved a degree of stability in his squad that is almost unheard of in the modern era. So long as the manager remains in charge, that is unlikely to change.
Pochettino's methods are clear from the squad he has taken with him to North America. As well as the usual suspects from the first team squad he has brought along seven members of the academy team. Brandon Austin, Jaden Brown, Jon Dinzeyi, Anthony Georgiou, Will Miller, Tashan Oakley-Boothe and Alfie Boothe aren't names that will be familiar to many fans. And even though none of them, with the possible exception of Brown -- who may fill in for Ben Davies in the continuing absence of Danny Rose -- are likely to get a game, the manager's point is still made. He's just as interested in developing talent as in bringing in established stars. These academy players are possible first team regulars of the future.
One name that was noticeably absent from the squad was £30m signing Moussa Sissoko. The reason given for the French international's absence is that he is suffering from a virus. That may be, though given his performances, many would argue he has been suffering from a virus since he joined the club on transfer deadline day last year.
Certainly, one gets the impression that Pochettino wouldn't have been too disappointed by Sissoko's sick-note. The manager has given every sign of wanting him out of the club as Sissoko himself wants out.
What went wrong between Sissoko and Spurs will remain one of the great unknowns. Though Newcastle fans will be saying a loud "I told you so," no-one can deny -- especially on the basis of his performances at Euro 2016 -- there is a very talented footballer somewhere inside.
Sissoko has the pace, physique and skill to terrify opponents: that he was never able to show more than the occasional flashes of that player while wearing a Spurs shirt is a matter of regret.