When Harry Kane left Tottenham Hotspur in the summer much was made of who was going to replace him. But Son Heung-Min has stepped up, taken the captain’s armband, and taken his game to another level.
Michael Bailey, Charlie Eccleshare and Adam Crafton discuss on The Athletic Football Podcast how Son has gone to the next level.
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#THFC #Spurs #PremierLeague
33 Comments
Richy on the left has been solid too. I'm glad to see the team coming together.
The only people who underrate Son are eye test merchants who are too lazy or incapable of analyzing data aka an honest reflection of what’s happened in reality on the pitch.
Disappointed in Crafton admitting to severely underrating Son. First you aren't threatened by him, years after he helped drag Tottenham to a Champions League final? Second, you don't perceive leadership qualities from a man who is one of the most famous Korean's in the world, captain of his national team, and is famous for his sunny disposition? Adam, it's time for some self-reflection to see why you have these glaring oversights.
Son is absolutely world class and should be in the conversation about the top 5 to 10 players in the world.
I reckon Son is absolutely world
class player. Surprisingly, he has been upgraded every season.
I imagine Son will always outscore his Xg because he is great at shooting from distance.
Son always has the best shooting technique in the EPL I would say for the last 5 or 6 seasons. The guy can shoot from anywhere with almost machine level precision. Add to that his speed and intelligent runs and very good dribbling. I would say he was placed in the shadow of Kane by the media ignorance rather than his own shortcomings. He carried the Pochettino's in it's peak form in 2019 when Kane was out for most of the season.
If he was playing for Bayern or City, or if he was European, he would definitely be in the discussion as a top 5 talent in the last 10 years.
Everyone in stadium watch Son’s play every week. We all know he’s a world class.
If Son played for one of the other top clubs and perhaps was another nationality… he'd have been heralded and recognised as the world class player he is years ago, especially if he'd been English. But as it is, being Asian and playing for Tottenham, plus in the supposed shadow of Kane, he's never really got the credit he's deserved. I'm so pleased to see him now as the main man in the spotlight, getting that deserved praise and proper recognition. There is nothing more I would like from the Premiership this season than to watch Son lift a trophy as Spurs captain.
Son’s leadership has been a catalyst of Spurs’ good start. He has fostered togetherness in the squad through his hard work, self sacrifice for the betterment of the team, and willingness to praise others.
thank you for mentioning about his injury during the last season. He got a surgery in Korea during the summer break and a lot of people do not know about it still. it says a lot about Son how he played the entire season in pain because he knew the team needed him.
Son is Pep Mancity's nightmare shows the level
Look at Mane or Mahrez or Sterling who are same age as Son that have been rated higher than Son by some people. Son has been most consistent top player over the last 6,7 seasons (excluding last season due to injury) except Salah in that LW/RW or ST position. It’s just English media who underate him because they don’t want to reckon him(being the first Asian player that good) but outside of England, Son is actually a super start especially in Asia, he is a superstar
There isn’t a player in world football more suited to Ange than Son. Not just his style of play but more importantly his personality and attitude are exactly what Ange looks for in a player. The ones that thrive under Ange usually aren’t the most talented but have that attitude and mindset that means they buy in 100% to what he wants; Son has that in spades on top of being a world class player.
it's funny how some people question Son's leadership when he's been the captain of the South Korean national team for a bit now.
English being English, Son will never be rated higher than English players like Girlish.
Son is a tremendous player. Second most consistent player in the league of the last half decade after Salah.
Son is the best xG over performer in Europe since he came to Spurs.
It's really as simple as he played for a club in England that also had the greatest English striker of a generation.
❤
Hasn't gone to the next level at all 😂😂
A few decent performances nothing special
He is absolutely miles off the player he was 2 seasons ago
Miles off
I'm not sure that he has gone to another level as much as he has returned to his levels from two years ago. He has also been the victim of very unimaginative managers, in terms of how they use him and the team play, for his entire Tottenham career. I'm glad he is getting some recognition. He has been one of the greatest finishers in world football, not just now but ever, for years.
Son was always brilliant when played thro middle when kane was injured – hard to say how good we’d have been with Kane but if Kane had stayed he would likely have been made captain and do feel Son as captain os far better than Kane and not sure how good Kane would he at pressing and being taken off after 75 mins as son apologised for not being totally behind his replacement but in most games he has been when taken off while not sure Kane would he as positive
Son could always play ST. Hate to say it, but there’s some racial bias in the commentary of under rated.
lmao captains south korea but not a natural captain hahaha
Even with hernia, he had 14 overall goals and 6 assists. Media is the one that made fuss of it. He had to deal with Conte's change in tactics center around Perisic and Kane. Look at the heat map of Son for 2022 and 2023 season. He was playing more defensive role. He is a explosive player who thrive in speed and finishing activities. Conte took that away from him.
I hope he plays better than 2 seasons ago, which was his best season.
I believe if son wasn’t Korean he would be in the debate of the best forwards in the world right now Iam a spurs fan but not a delusion one and have thought his football as been top class for years handled badly by bad mangers recently but we are seeing a new son now again
I think the reason he outscores his xG is bc the types of goals he’s very good at scoring are goals that not many players can pull off. He always fancies his chances from range and like you were saying, he can go either way and create opportunities that other players aren’t able to
Don’t think he can shake off the niggles completely, I think it’s good that he skips trainings to run more in matches, if he was injury free he probably wouldn’t be able to do the same
A healthy Son is so dangerous. He is so sharp and clinical. A real Captain.
Hazard came close to Messi, son came close to Ronaldo and is still going. Sonny is my top player hands down.
Let's not forget unlike Haaland or Salah, Son hardly take any PKs
And just imagine if you put Haaland as winger and Salah as ST would they be as effective?
Because Son is!