Tottenham have recently confirmed the capture of South Korean star Heung-Min Son from German club Bayer Leverkusen, a move which has excited the majority of Tottenham fans, but where will he feature in Pochettino’s side?
A notable characteristic of Son’s play style is how comfortable he is with both feet, whether that be taking shots or spreading the ball to a teammate. This gives him the added dynamic of being unpredictable when going forward but more importantly for Pochettino, it allows him to play anywhere across the front four in the Argentine’s fluid 4-2-3-1 system, whether that be out wide, behind the striker or as the main forward in the line up.
For Bayer Leverkusen he was mostly used out on the left hand side, allowing him to cut inside and run at players in a more direct manner, a position that is occupied at Spurs by Belgian Nacer Chadli who has become an important player in Tottenham’s attack. However, Chadli has very little competition for the left wing position, with the only real back up to him being young Alex Pritchard who is yet to play this season after his impressive season on loan at Brentford last year. The capture of Son could really push both players performances with the knowledge they do not have a guaranteed place on the team sheet, similarly to how Danny Rose improved massively with the purchase of Ben Davies.
With rumours of Erik Lamela departing, Pochettino may opt to play Son in the right winger slot, which would definitely give Tottenham some considerable fire power from wide areas. Goals is something Erik Lamela struggled to come by and Son would almost certainly deliver them if his seasons at Leverkusen and Hamburg are anything to go by. It would definitely add more pace to Spurs’ attack – something they have desperately been lacking since the days when Aaron Lennon occupied that right hand side for the Lilywhites.
Additionally, with his ability to use both feet very effectively, it would give Tottenham more options going forward, with recently both wingers always looking to cut inside giving Spurs a real lack of natural width, whereas Son would be comfortable cutting inside or going outside and hitting the byline for a cross.
Another option this give Pochettino is the idea of playing two up top, something he has been quoted to have been working on in training but using Nacer Chadli as a second striker. With the introduction of the South Korean international, it now gives Tottenham a more natural striker to fit the 4-4-2 system Pochettino seems to be experimenting with. However, this change in formation would more than likely mean pushing Christian Eriksen out wide, a position where he is nowhere near as effective as he is through the middle. Yet Pochettino may sacrifice the creativity of the Dane in order to give Harry Kane a partner up front, a move which would certainly take the pressure off the young striker compared to when he plays up top on his own. Not just mentally, but physically it would benefit Kane with teams less likely to double up on him as seen early this season and towards the end of last season.
Pochettino has a lot of options with Heung-Min Son and only time will tell where he feels his strongest position is in this Spurs side which has struggled for points early in the season.
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