The “Son” really is shining for Tottenham at the moment. But it has been a difficult recent summer for Heung Min Son. Not that anything was actually wrong with him, but he was faced with a decision that was giving him a dilemma. Interest from Wolfsburg meant he had an opportunity to return to Germany. A financial offer had been made to Tottenham Hotspur for his services, but the club were reluctant to entertain it. He had been in Germany since the age of 16 after leaving High School in South Korea to pursue his footballing career and a return was tempting for him. Particularly as he had a mixed first season at White Hart Lane after joining in August 2015 for £22m from Bayer Leverkusen.
Staying with Tottenham
Thankfully Mauricio Pochettino spoke with Son at length and the player decided to stay and attempt to regain the form that made Tottenham move for him in 2015. He had arrived with a flourish in 2015 scoring two goals in his home debut against Qarabag FK in the Europa League; followed immediately after by the solitary winning goal against Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Injury soon followed however, which meant that Son missed a number of matches. It was a difficult period for him as he struggled to find his pre injury form.
The first season with a new club can always be difficult. Especially if it involves moving to a new country and adapting to a new culture. Despite this however, Son made 42 total appearances for Spurs in his first season and scored eight goals.
A Promising Start
Whatever was said in that conversation with Pochettino seems to have done the trick. Away with the South Korean national team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Son came back fit and eager to play. He scored a brace in the away fixture at Stoke City on 10th September, and did so again yesterday away at Middlesbrough. He was man of the match in both games.
The impressive performance away at Stoke gave Pochettino a dilemma for the following fixture against AS Monaco in the Champions League. But, by electing to deploy one less central defensive midfielder in order to maintain the attacking momentum from the Stoke game, it actually left a defensive hole that was exploited by the French side. That blip aside however, it seems that Son is carving out a role for himself on the left of Tottenham’s midfield. He was also arguably man of the match again in the home game against Sunderland which Tottenham won 1-0 courtesy of a Harry Kane goal. That’s three consecutive Premier League Man of the Match performances for Son.
The Season Ahead
It is of course a long season and there are tough fixtures coming up for Spurs. But the fact that Heung Min Son is showing such early season prominence is encouraging for Pochettino’s team. Spurs fans are now starting to see glimpses of the player that was so popular in Germany and such a hero to many South Koreans. Having a keen eye for goal from his attacking midfield role, he has shown that he can have a positive impact in games. Son netted 41 times in 135 games in Germany as well as scoring 16 goals in 49 senior appearances for his country. With Harry Kane due an enforced absence from the Spurs side due to injury, goals will have to come from elsewhere in the team and Son has recently laid down his marker.
Son actually finished last season strongly scoring in the away fixture at Chelsea and then at home to Southampton in the penultimate game of the 2015/16 season. At a time when the Spurs side had lost some momentum having conceded their title challenge to Leicester City, Son was a positive light in some otherwise mediocre team displays. He has continued his scoring form into 2016/17 and Spurs fans will be hoping that this continues. In the end Son will get his wish to return to Germany this season. But only as a Spurs player and moreover to face former club Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League Group Stage. Right now Spurs fans are no doubt quite happy about that; as is Mauricio Pochettino.
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