He's strong. Levi Son Heung-min, who is a tight-knit player, adheres to the one-year extension of the contract despite his strong performance every day, and should he win at least the top scorer

Dec 20, 2024

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'It's so strong. You're turning a blind eye to it?'

Tottenham Hotspur's 'Captain' Son Heung-min (32) made another great scene. He actually scored an impossible goal. It's like a scene from a movie. Therefore, some say that he may receive another FIFA Puskas Award, which he received five years ago.

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However, no matter how fantastic Son Heung-min scores and leads his team to victory, Chairman Daniel Levy and Tottenham's leadership do not care. On Son Heung-min's contract issue, he is always in the same position. In this atmosphere, even if Son Heung-min wins the EPL's top scorer again this season, it will not be much different.

Son Heung-min started in the quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 Carabao Cup (League Cup) against Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England on the 20th (Korea time) and scored a goal to secure his team's victory. The left corner kick situation in the 43rd minute of the second half when they were chased 3-2. Son Heung-min, who played as a kicker, fired a kick with a sharp spin and shook the net directly.

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Son Heung-min, who scored a goal as if he were in a movie, will have his seventh goal (fifth in the league) this season. If you score three more goals, you can achieve double-digit goals for nine consecutive seasons.

It was a miracle goal that made the impossible possible. Scoring a corner with a direct goal is nothing short of hard work. It rarely comes out in real life. This can also be demonstrated statistically. European soccer statistics company Footmob said Son Heung-min's expected score (xG) of 'corner kick direct goal' in the match against Manchester United was 0.01. This means that the chances of success are very slim.

Son Heung-min did this difficult thing. Of course, there was contact between Manchester United goalkeeper Vindr and Lucas Beribal just before the goal, but it cannot be denied that Son Heung-min's corner kick drew a fantastic trajectory. It was a valuable goal. United followed up to 3-4 with Evans' goal in second-half stoppage time. If it wasn't for Son Heung-min's goal, he would have gone to extra time.

사진=더 선

Although Son Heung-min has pushed his team to the semifinals of the Cup with such a difficult goal, Tottenham is still not considering renewing his contract with Son Heung-min. Tottenham's position continues to be the same. It is not to renew the contract with Son Heung-min, but to use the 'one-year extension option' in the existing contract.

No matter how long Son Heung-min has been performing, it is not a very important value for Tottenham's leadership. If this value was considered important in the first place, he should have already renewed his contract with Son Heung-min before the opening of this season. However, Tottenham seems to think that renewing the contract with Son Heung-min is a `waste of money.'

The biggest obstacle is the age of mid-30s. The same goes for the increasingly expensive ransom. Tottenham want a `low cost and high efficiency.' It is more efficient to recruit potential talents in their early and mid-20s than to give the best treatment to Son Heung-min, who is at risk of an aging curve heading into his mid-30s, and keep him for a few more years.

Therefore, he is expected to use Son Heung-min as an extension option for just one more year without incurring any additional costs, and then choose between signing a contract for another year or two or saying goodbye completely there.

Rather, rumors of Son Heung-min's transfer are spreading further because of Tottenham's attitude. Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Galatasaray have appeared so far. Son Heung-min has no intention of going to these teams. Tottenham may also be neglecting Son Heung-min as a stage response because they are guessing his thoughts.

ESPN reported that `Son Heung-min wants a long-term contract with the club, but no meaningful conversation has been conducted so far.' Even in the eyes of local media, Tottenham is too stubborn and conservative.

The problem is that there are no plans to change this attitude, and agent Son Heung-min is not capable of persuading him. No matter how good Son Heung-min is in the rest of the season, it's the same. Rather, if you want to renew your contract, it may be better to play well in the next season's one-year extension.

Reporter Lee Won-man wman@sportschosun.com

wman@sportschosun.com