Tottenham might struggle to retain Son Heung-min’s services in the coming seasons, according to former Spurs striker Darren Bent.
Son, 26, has been crucial to Spurs since his return from the Asian Cup, scoring important goals and deputising for the injured Harry Kane and Dele Alli up front.
How good is Son? Five things to know…
- Spurs bought Son from Bayer Leverkusen for £22m in 2015, where he hit 29 goals in 87 appearances.
- After a mixed first season, Son grew increasingly influential at Tottenham, scoring a goal just under every three games so far, having struck 62 in 171 games, often from the wing.
- The South Korean won the Asian Games with his country, meaning he is now exempt from military service – something that hung over his career previously.
- This season, he has scored 15 goals in 31 games in all competitions.
- Son has been directly involved in 59 Premier goals in 119 games at Spurs.
And Bent, who played for the Lilywhites for two seasons, scoring 25 times, believes Spurs have a challenge on their hands if they are to keep the highly-rated Son at White Hart Lane for the long-term, with other clubs admiring the forward’s abilities.
“Son is an amazing player,” Bent told Talksport. “Everything about him, the way he plays the game, he’s such a threat and he can finish with his left and right feet.
“The only worry for Spurs in the next few years is losing some of these players.
“People are going to look at Son and think, ‘he’s a lot better than we thought’, and he offers so much more than just scoring goals with his work rate and creativity.
“Just the way he seems to be around the place – you can see the Spurs fans love him and his team-mates love him. You can’t often buy that sort of player.”
The former Spurs and Aston Villa man then heaped further praise on Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, who has kept Spurs within touching distance of Liverpool and Man City, without investing in players for more than a year.
“Missing Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Son away playing for his country, I thought they were really going to struggle but they have somehow managed to keep the results coming along,” the Englishman added.
“It’s a testament to Pochettino and shows how good a manager he is. He is without arguably one of the best strikers in world football in Harry Kane, but other players are stepping up and getting the goals and they still look quite solid.
“The job he’s doing is fantastic. Not spending any money in strengthening the team, they’re still not in the new stadium – people keep talking about the negatives around the club, but yet week-in week-out they keep churning out results.
“That’s a testament to the squad and the manager because they must really believe in him.
“With the way they are playing at the moment, no one can question Pochettino’s decision and Daniel Levy’s decision not to sign any players.”
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Son’s bang in form
No player bar Kane has scored more goals for Spurs since Son’s arrival, with 62.
In Kane’s absence, and with Alli also out – Spurs’ de facto goal-getters – Son has taken up the mantle as Tottenham’s primary threat.
Much was made of whether or not Fernando Llorente would be able to replicate Kane’s goals, but while the Spaniard has generally fared well in recent weeks, scoring five in his last eight games, it’s Son’s premature return from the Asian Cup that ensured Spurs have maintained their title challenge.
South Korea’s elimination by Qatar in the quarter-finals was Tottenham’s gain, and now it’s the two-footed attacker who will have Spurs’ hopes resting on his shoulders as Borussia Dortmund lie in wait on Wednesday night in the Champions League. Son has eight goals in 10 games against the Bundesliga leaders.
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