World Cup fever is enveloping the globe, and I hope less of us are chasing the dopamine hits from a timeline refresh, desperate for the latest on Savinho or Jan Paul van Hecke.
Spurs aren't massively represented at this summer's tournament, with 10 Lilywhites in action out in North America. That includes Scotland's Andy Robertson, who became our first signing of the summer on a free transfer.
One nation many of us should be keeping a close eye on is the Netherlands, whose campaign started with a 2-2 draw against Japan on Sunday. An insipid, risk-averse and borderline cowardly stalemate burst into life in the second half, with the Japanese twice hitting back after Virgil van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville handed the Oranje the lead.
The Spurs-linked Summerville shone down the right, and Ronald Koeman's decision to withdraw him from proceedings at 2-1 was certainly curious. Moreover, Micky van de Ven started and finished the game at left-back, while Van Hecke played alongside Van Dijk at the heart of their defence.
Van Hecke saw plenty of the ball and was often effective with it, but Van de Ven's limitations as a full-back, especially against a compact defence, were laid bare. However, the biggest concern from a Spurs perspective was Bart Verbruggen's performance between the posts.
Verbruggen's World Cup struggles should serve as a warning
There hasn't yet been movement on the goalkeeper front in north London, but Guglielmo Vicario is expected to return to his homeland. Antonín Kinsky's performances down the stretch last season mean he's earned the right to fight for the starting job, with the club needing to replace Vicario once he moves on.
Among the names linked with a move to Spurs is Brighton & Hove Albion's Verbruggen.
Brighton are notoriously robust negotiators, and their valuation of Van Hecke, considering he has just a year left on his deal, has further proved that they will only part ways with their players for what they believe is a just fee (a.k.a. a premium price).
That's what worries me about a potential Verbruggen pursuit. He's Brighton's No. 1, and a pretty good one at that, with the data suggesting the Dutchman is far better than what he produced in the Oranje's World Cup opener. Verbruggen arguably should've done more with both of Japan's goals, certainly the second, which he could only parry into the roof of the net.
Don't get me wrong, it's the blunders and howlers that stick in the memory when it comes to goalkeepers. The moments of genius often fall by the wayside. Verbruggen provokes images of error.
There's plenty to suggest that Verbruggen is a very good goalkeeper who'd represent a discernible upgrade on Vicario, but the staggering fee Brighton would likely force us to pay means there'd be an expectation of perfection.
And Verbruggen is seemingly never too far away from his next costly mistake.
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