Tottenham found a substitute for SON before the season. Son Heung-min, born in 1992, is concerned about his age + injury

Dec 13, 2024

사진=Action Images via Reuters-REUTER Yonhap News

It's a shock. Tottenham were looking for a replacement for Son Heung-min even before the season.

British media Give Me Sports reported on the 12th (Korea time) 'Tottenham is looking for a long-term replacement for Son Heung-min. Son Heung-min is getting older. There are also injuries. Tottenham have already been looking for Son's replacement since the off-season this year. Yang Min-hyuk joins from Korea, but Yang Min-hyuk is a resource of the distant future,' the report said.

Son Heung-min, born in 1992, will end his trip with Tottenham after this season. Initially, Tottenham is expected to offer Son Heung-min a long-term renewal.

Son Heung-min left Leverkusen (Germany) and joined Tottenham through the transfer market in the summer of 2015. Son Heung-min played in 422 games in Tottenham's uniform, scoring 166 goals-88 assists. It is also the 'synonyms' of steadyness. Son Heung-min scored double-digit points for eight consecutive seasons from the 2016-2017 season. Since the inauguration of the English Premier League (EPL) in 1992, only seven players have scored 10 or more goals for eight consecutive seasons. In addition, Son Heung-min scored 23 goals in the league in the 2021-2022 season, becoming Asia's first top scorer in the English Premier League (EPL). He was 100% pure top scorer with no penalty kick points. Son Heung-min also left 17 goals and 10 assists in the league in the 2023-2024 season. Once again, I joined '10 (goal)-10 (help) club'. He became the first Asian player to achieve EPL 10-10 (11 goals-10 assists) in the 2019-2020 season. After the 2020-2021 season (17 goals-10 assists), he was listed as the third 10-10 in his career.

His performance is 'present progressive'. According to soccer statistics media Squaka, Son created nine "big chances" in open play in the league this season. He was ranked second overall. Bukayo Saka (Arnall) ranked first 10 times, while Son Heung-min tied Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United).

사진=AP-PA Yonhap News

The problem is Tottenham's move. Last month, the British media Telegraph reported that Tottenham will soon issue an option to extend Son's one-year contract. Tottenham signed Son Heung-min's last contract (four years) in July 2021, with the club reportedly having the option to extend the contract for another year. Tottenham just needs to let Son Heung-min know that they are exercising their option to extend their contract. Both Tottenham and Son Heung-min agree to activate the option.

The turnaround has been repeated. Spurs Web reported on the 10th that Son Heung-min's representative denied the transfer rumors surrounding him. It is not true that Son Heung-min makes a request to the Spanish club first or goes to the Turkiye League. I didn't finish talking to Tottenham. Tottenham want to buy time in contract talks. Son Heung-min is expected to agree a long-term deal with Tottenham before the end of this season. It looks like it will sign up to a three-year contract while keeping its current salary as it is,' it said.

epi17@sportschosun.com