There's a feeling within Tottenham Hotspur that the handbrake has finally been taken off.
Whether that came with the departure of long-serving chairman Daniel Levy and his firm grip on the club and the decisions made at most levels, or the newer generations of the Lewis family finally stepping forward and realising what Joe had in his hands, differs on who you speak to inside the north London outfit.
Despite his jet lag in New Zealand, you can sense the excitement in Roberto De Zerbi as he knows that he is being backed at Spurs in a bigger way than ever before in his managerial career. The club have spent £237million so far in realising his vision with more to come.
"We're not finished yet. I think we can be happier at the end of this transfer window, because I spoke a lot with the owners, with the board, and they want to build a very strong team for this season for sure, but to make the base for the future to become great again," said the Italian, channelling his inner Donald Trump.
The irony is that despite Tottenham splashing the cash this summer and smashing their transfer record twice with the £85million and then £100million arrivals of Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, they have also finally sorted out their inability to sell players which makes it all sustainable.
The club recognised that it needed to plug the transfer cash draining down the plug hole, with hundreds of millions frittered away over the past seven years in particular on big signings that later left for nothing or nominal fees.
In the January window Spurs balanced the arrival of Conor Gallagher by selling the previous season's top scorer Brennan Johnson and this summer the departures of Luka Vuskovic, Radu Dragusin, Alejo Veliz, Alfie Devine and Will Lankshear could eventually bring more than £106million into the club.
Inter Milan have been in talks to try to sign captain Cristian Romero while a queue of clubs want young midfielder Lucas Bergvall, with De Zerbi set to speak to the young wantaway Swede before deciding what comes next. The outcome seems as clear as the look on Bergvall's face on this tour.
If those two depart then potentially another £120million lands in the coffers, with Guglielmo Vicario also expected to move on, and the initial £237million summer outlay is already recouped.
football.london understands claims from Brazil that Benfica have lodged a 20milllion euro bid for young left-back Souza are believed to be wide of the mark with Spurs not actively seeking to sell a player they only signed six months ago.
The improvement at Tottenham has come across the board financially with the wage structure opened up to finally challenge those at other big clubs and the north London outfit can compete again.
Spurs' two priority new contracts to tie down this summer were Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven. The Spaniard inked his new deal before starring at the World Cup and Van de Ven will have been similarly impressed by the strides made in finally showing the ambition required.
Likewise the budgets have increased for the academy and women's team, the latter breaking their transfer record last week on Lyon defender Alice Sombath.
The wide-ranging reviews that took place inside the club over the past year resulted in those changes, while performance director Dan Lewindon's improvements to the medical and performance departments with various new arrivals and changes in methods should bear fruit down the line.
De Zerbi wants further improvements to his squad and isn't shy about letting everyone know, echoing his compatriot and predecessor Antonio Conte.
FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
The current Spurs boss has been told he will be backed in making 'make Tottenham great again' and that process is far from done in his eyes.
With upgrades brought in across the defence and midfield, focus now turns to the attack with De Zerbi making it clear that he wants wingers - he was keen to ensure that was plural - while a new striker would not go amiss, particularly if they can also play on the flank.
The available striker market is not awash with top talent this summer so Tottenham and their unshackled sporting director Johan Lange might have to get creative in that aspect.
There is a certain irony for Lange in that he can now challenge properly to bring top tier signings to the club, but many of the young players with potential that he played a part in bringing to the club are likely to be the collateral damage of the rebuild along with the academy players.
With Bergvall likely to depart if his price tag is met, Sunday's friendly win against A-League champions Auckland FC felt like a shop (or loan) window for many of Spurs' other young players.
After that 30-hour trip to the other side of the world, De Zerbi decided to rest some of his recent returnees from the World Cup while using only a sprinkling of senior stars from the bench for the final half hour.
That meant a young starting XI, captained by Archie Gray, in front of a record crowd of 40,112 at Eden Park, the fortress of the All Blacks, who are unbeaten there in 32 years.
It was the most people packed inside a stadium to watch a men's football match in New Zealand history, beating the 37,034 that witnessed the national team's World Cup qualifier against Peru back in 2017.
The Spurs youngsters acquitted themselves well against an Auckland side shorn of their own returning World Cup players.
Gray marshalled the group from the centre of the pitch along with Jamie Donley. The 21-year-old has plenty of Football League experience and the old cliched wand of a left foot. Are wands not available for right-footers?
Between them Gray and Donley sprayed passes around the turf, which ensured the visiting wingers Mikey Moore and Manor Solomon kept getting in behind the hosts' defence.
One pinpoint curling ball from Gray 12 minutes in found Solomon's run into the penalty area and although the Israel international's shot was saved, the loose ball ran for Dane Scarlett to slot home his now customary pre-season goal.
The 22-year-old striker, lauded in past years by the likes of Jose Mourinho and Conte, has found goals harder to come by in senior football on his loans in the Football League and to Hibernian last season.
With 12 months left on his contract, Scarlett's next step in the game will be decided by De Zerbi in the weeks ahead.
Behind Gray and Donley was a makeshift defence which managed to keep out the Auckland strikers, with thanks to Brandon Austin, who made two big saves at the beginning and end of the first half.
Kota Takai has become something of a forgotten man since signing last season amid injuries and a barely worthwhile loan in the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach.
Yet the 21-year-old centre-back showed the composure on the ball and anticipation that had scouts from across Europe raving about him as a Japan youth international before he made his senior bow.
The level of opposition at Eden Park must be taken into account but this was a positive display from the defender after a tough first year since leaving his homeland.
Alongside Takai for the opening hour on Sunday was promising academy talent Malachi Hardy. The 18-year-old was completing a full circle moment after getting Richarlison's autograph as a youngster back in 2017 when the Brazilian was in pre-season with Watford and now playing alongside and celebrating the striker's goal with him later in the game.
Hardy has an ease to the way he plays and a presence despite his age. He has benefited from the absence of Jun'ai Byfield, another top central defensive prospect who continues to deal with growing pains that have kept him out of action since his composed senior debut last season.
"Malachi is another good player for the future of the club," De Zerbi told football.london before adding his name to the list of Spurs coaches who have called for the club's academy to be improved.
"We can't forget the young players, especially for the new rules, the financial fair play, or the rules of the Champions League, Europa League.
"And then we have to improve our academy. We have to help them produce more players, because we need it and it's important for the club."
In the full-back slots were academy midfielders Tye Hall and Rio Kyerematen, who adapted well to the roles.
The latter grew into the game after a difficult first half, making an important block after the break, while the latter proved his versatility by playing on both sides. Hall recorded more defensive contributions than anyone else on the pitch, with two tackles, two interceptions, three ball recoveries and three clearances.
Then there was Luca Williams-Barnett. The 17-year-old attacker is the jewel in the academy's crown right now and he's relishing his summer so far.
He revelled in the senior environment in the midweek training ground friendly against MK Dons and again took his opportunity to impress on the other side of the world.
Every time the ball arrived at his feet, the Auckland defenders looked terrified. That's because with his natural ability, Williams-Barnett can dribble past you as easily as he can pick out a pass that others can't see.
The teenager just struggled to pull the trigger in the final third on the day, but his quality was on display for all to see and his status among the excited Tottenham fans is only going to grow this summer.
He should benefit from the exodus to come of the young players this season. Too young to be loaned out until January, aside from a work experience loan to a low level club, any chances that arise in the Carabao Cup or FA Cup next year will fall to him if he is ready to take it.
It's incredibly early days with a long road ahead for him, but the most obvious while lofty comparison for older viewers in a Spurs sense for Williams-Barnett is Paul Gascoigne.
Like Gazza, the youngster has that eye-catching ability with the ball that you are simply born with. It cannot be taught and he plays with a similar freedom and abandon that managers have to either embrace or find a way to conduct.
Off the pitch, Williams-Barnett also has that bit of a rascality to him. His football belies his years but when you see him away from the turf you are reminded of his age, albeit with a big character for someone so young. Football ages you quickly but it has to be remembered that Williams-Barnett and some of his contemporaries are still children until they hit 18.
football.london saw him zooming around the streets of the small Norwegian town of Bodo with Byfield on scooters last year, missing out on making the bench in the Champions League with the seniors after failing to impress the academy coaches on that trip. He and Byfield came on for just the final 30 minutes of the UEFA Youth League game earlier in the day.
A classic cheeky teen but with plenty of confidence, Williams-Barnett has occasionally poked his head into the press conference room full of grizzled old reporters at Hotspur Way, after the manager has spoken, to say a cheery 'hello' with a grin if it coincides with his academy day being done.
His talent is clear and the only concern within Spurs is the classic one that comes hand in hand with the game's youngest talents - how will they deal with the rapid ascent that comes with their eye-catching abilities.
With social media awash with clips of his skills and other clubs' fans starting to take notice, Williams-Barnett will need to keep his head, his patience and his work rate up despite the calls for his involvement from the fanbase.
He has a perfect manager in De Zerbi, who told football.london that "Luca is a big talent, very young, big talent". The Italian was a number 10 and no doubt a rascal himself at 17, so there are few better to understand what the Spurs academy star will be going through.
Williams-Barnett could do a lot worse than look to Moore and Gray as the best examples to follow in how they have kept their feet on the ground. Both have been hugely-lauded at an early age, have plenty of natural talent, and each has responded with hard work and a remarkable maturity in their outlook.
There is also Xavi Simons, who took a shine to Williams-Barnett after his arrival at the club last season. The Dutchman's route through the game from being a Barcelona youngster with a million followers on Instagram to where he is now should make him a wise guide for Williams-Barnett despite being only 23 himself.
Eighteen-year-old Moore was quieter than he would have wanted to be during his time on the pitch on Sunday but spoke well in his press conference after the game.
A little over a year older than Williams-Barnett, Moore has the senior experience that comes with 21 appearances for Spurs and a big developmental year at Rangers with 47 games under his belt there along with Old Firm Derby goals and the Scottish Premiership Young Player of the Season award.
"Luca is an unbelievable footballer," Moore told football.london. "It's nice to be able to help young players like him but they're going to find their own way through it and experience it themselves as well.
"We're all on different journeys and all experience different things. I'm quite close to their age, but maybe I've experienced a bit more so far. So I feel like I can help some of the younger boys who I've played with a few years ago and help them through.
"All the younger boys enjoyed it today. You saw that. They dealt really well with having 40,000 people in the stands. It was nothing for them, the boys were top."
Moore does not know what this season holds for him but with the lack of European football and new arrivals incoming, the club can afford to loan him out for another year to continue his development.
"We have to see," admitted De Zerbi. "We have to analyse the last part of the transfer market, because we try to bring wingers, and then we speak with him, with his agent, with the club, to find the best solution for everyone."
It was noticeable that captain for the day Gray made a beeline for Williams-Barnett as the half-time whistle blew and began saying something into his ear, covering his mouth. It looked to be words of encouragement for the youngster.
"Archie will be and is a leader and he's a top, top footballer," said Moore. "He deserved to have the captain's armband out there today. He's one who can help the rest of the young boys through it and showed that in his performance as well.
"He was very good. He's another very, very good footballer who has a good mentality to go with it. He is top."
Gray could have sulked at training with the 'kids' on Saturday and then leading them out the follow day but the 20-year-old took it as exactly the test it was from De Zerbi and duly stepped up to make his own point.
"Yes, Archie is young, but he's an old player, as a mentality, as a performance, as an experience, as a career," said De Zerbi before pointing to the flock the former Leeds man was shepherding.
"The young players have to push, because with me as a coach, they have the chance to play. Logically, they have to show me they are ready, they have qualities, they have a mentality to play in this club.
"When I decide the players, when I decide the squad, I never see the age of the players. I just analyse the qualities and the potential of these players."
That's easier said than done though with De Zerbi also keen to bring in ready-made players to push Tottenham to new heights.
The pathway is not going to be open for these young players until the club's European registration problems, which are not being addressed despite De Zerbi mentioning them, force the door open when Spurs return to the continent.
For Gray, his versatility will be his greatest strength in getting game time but also his greatest weakness in hindering his development as a midfielder.
With Pedro Porro and Djed Spence not likely to return from their terrific World Cup exploits until the seven to 10 days before the club's Premier League season begins at Brentford, Gray is likely to fill the gap at right-back this summer.
De Zerbi has lauded the 20-year-old as a future captain of Spurs and maintained that he needs to focus on his midfield role, but at the same time will have to contradict that with his selections.
"It's lucky for me when you have these type of players who are able to play in different positions. Okay, it's important for him to fix on one position, one favourite position but at the end, he has to be open to cover different positions on the pitch," said the Italian.
"He can play as a right-back, as a left-back, as a midfielder. Nothing changes for smart players. A smart player, I think, is improving in the knowledge on the pitch, because changing position, you change body shape, you change direction when you receive the ball and when you give the ball.
"But he's an important player for me, even if he can play in different positions."
Gray needs to force his way up the ladder to become De Zerbi's go-to man after the £185million pairing of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. The latter is just 18 months older than Gray and has a similar all-round ability to his game and a ceiling that is higher than most in the game.
Getting the Portuguese ahead of Manchester United could be the biggest move Tottenham make for years and those inside the club have been even more excited about his arrival after seeing him up close each day.
His remarkable goal against MK Dons was met by gasps and laughs by his team-mates but it is what the midfielder is capable of.
Bergvall's chat with De Zerbi aside, the other midfield options are plentiful with Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr given another week off, the former asking for extra rest and the latter needing to sort out a personal problem.
There is also Conor Gallagher, who managed to record the second most Spurs' defensive contributions in the game - seven - despite only coming on for the final half hour.
James Maddison has a little issue that has kept him out of the past five days of training with the group and the first two friendlies, as has Destiny Udogie, while Tonali had a small problem that meant he missed the game in New Zealand.
Mathys Tel was fit though to show his direct ability down the left to pull the Auckland defenders all over the place on a couple of occasions and set up Richarlison to score in the 70th minute.
football.london has previously reported that De Zerbi told the Frenchman before he went on his summer break that he was looking to count on him for the coming campaign.
However, hearing the manager publicly call for more wingers to be signed is going to make that another busy department with Mohammed Kudus also set to rejoin full training on the team's return to Hotspur Way in a week's time and Dejan Kulusevski to be assessed in a couple of weeks.
There is also the eventual return of Xavi and Wilson Odobert from their ACL injuries halfway through the campaign.
A squad that looked so weak and fragile last season could end up being one of the strongest in the Premier League if Spurs can keep players out of the treatment room more often than not this time around.
De Zerbi, despite his current jet-lagged state and only getting three or four hours of sleep each night, is visibly excited about what lies ahead at Spurs.
For a man who will not hide his feelings if he is unhappy at what's going on inside a club, that can only be a good thing.
It feels like a very different Spurs this summer, a club unchained from its safe and ponderous recent ways and finally looking to live by its motto once more.
In De Zerbi's words, efforts are under way to make Tottenham Hotspur great again and the Premier League will have to pay close attention.
