Heung-Min Son (손흥민)

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I've always been critical of his game outside of scoring, but have to say his vision and passing in the final third has grown leaps and bounds in the last two years.

Fantastic how he's developing his game even at 30, rather than the typical pacy winger who struggles with age.
 

Tottenham idol issues 'incredible' Son Heung-min verdict after 'baffling' Saturday development​

Paul Robinson is “baffled as to why” Tottenham forward Son Heung-min is not put in the same bracket as Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former White Hart Lane number one claimed the 29-year-old’s goal record is “incredible” when it’s taken into account that he doesn’t take penalties.

Man City midfielder De Bruyne beat Son and Salah to the Premier League‘s Player of the Season award on Saturday.

De Bruyne has been talismanic for Pep Guardiola’s this term and has registered 15 goals and seven assists along the way.

Son has contributed 21 goals and nine assists in a Spurs team more than 20 points behind Man City and Liverpool.

When asked by Football Insider’s Dylan Childs if Son should have won the award, Robinson said: “There was a real case for him to be the player of the year.

“The talk is always about De Bruyne and Salah but Son is up there with them for goals and assists every season. He has to be talked about more. He is in the same bracket.

“When you look at his goal tally and factor in that he has not taken penalties, it’s incredible.

“If Salah was half the player he was in the first half of the season after the African Cup of Nations he would have walked it. But his performances have dipped.

“De Bruyne has been on a different planet recently. He has been outstanding but Sonny has been up there with him.

“You have to remember Son does it every week in a Spurs team not as good as City or Liverpool. I find it baffling as to why he’s not talked about in the same bracket as these other players.”
 
Help me out, we had an argument during the match yesterday when I said that during his spell in Tottenham Son wasn’t linked once with an exit. Is it true because I can’t remember any club sniffing around him
He himself wanted to leave after the 1st season.


"I came close to leaving," he told Standard Sport. "I went to the gaffer's office and told him I didn't feel comfortable and wanted to leave for Germany."

Son says the biggest reason for his change of heart was gaining the trust of Pochettino.

"The gaffer trusted me and I am so grateful," Son added.

"He made my dream come true. I am more than grateful [to him] - it is difficult to say. I have worked four years with the gaffer. It is just amazing."
 
Help me out, we had an argument during the match yesterday when I said that during his spell in Tottenham Son wasn’t linked once with an exit. Is it true because I can’t remember any club sniffing around him
So here is the breakdown based on my quick research:

2016-2017 Transfer Window
Son reportedly wanted to leave Spurs after his unsuccessful adjustment in the PL.

Liverpool wanted him again since Son had already rejected Liverpool to join Spurs instead in 2015.


But Son wanted to go back to Bundesliga, and there was a rumour that he was wanted by Wolfburg. As we all know, Mauricio ended up convincing Son to stay.

2017-2018 Transfer Window
Son was 25 years old, and had just scored 21 goals in the 16-17 season. But he had 3 years left in his contract. The article below suggests that Man City was interested in him at this time, but his long contract combined with the Levy factor deterred them from seriously pursuing after him (City just signed Kyle Walker for a world-record 53 million pound deal for a defender during this window).


2018-2019 Transfer Window (2018 Asian Cup & Pending Military Conscription)
Son turned 26 in July of 2018. Many teams would be attracted to footballers at that age with only 2 years left in the contract, but big names were not interested in Son due to his looming military service (about 2 years).

Had he not won the Asian Cup to be exempted from the conscription later that summer, he HAD to leave the Premier League before the 2018-2019 season to join a Korean domestic team to be eligible to play for the military football team to continue his football career. To be eligible for the military team, an applicant has to be 27 years or younger and has played at least 1 continuous year in the domestic league immediately prior to joining the military team.

On July 23rd, Spurs took a big gamble by giving Son a 5-year contract extension (which I believe is the main reason behind Son's unwavering loyalty towards Spurs). Son would not leave Spurs right after getting a 5-year contract extension and being excused from the pre-season to play for Korea in the Asian Cup (the club did not have to let him go since the tournament is not a FIFA sponsored event). Also, the Asian Cup ended on September 2nd, meaning the transfer window had been closed by then any way.

There was a rumour that Bayern was interested in Son for a January sweep after his military exemption. But Son gave an interview that he had recently extended his contract and was happy where he was.



2019-2020 Transfer Window
This is right after our incredible run to the Champions League final. Many teams would have wanted Son, but he still had whopping 4 years left in his contract. He was only 27 years at this time, so just imagine the cost to buy him from Levy. I saw a couple of news reporting rumours linking Son to Juventus, Liverpool, and Napoli to name a few, but nothing concrete.

2020-2021 Transfer Market
A couple of teams were reportedly interested in 28-year old Son (just pasting some articles below, don't know how reliable these sources are but there are many articles out there).

Real Madrid, especially Zidane, were reportedly interested in Son, but their priority was Mbappe, and any deal for Son would have far exceeded 100 million pounds, which deterred any serious bid by Real Madrid (they were also wary of signing a winger in the late 20s at a significant cost after Hazard's major flop at the time).


Bayern were interested in Son as well, but +100 million pounds was too expensive for the Bundesliga club. By way of a comparison, they signed 24-year old Sane for 45 mil, Coman for 7 mil, and 21-year old Gnabry for 8 mil.


I also read an article that the Club did not want to let go of the star players when we just missed out on qualifying for the Champions League, as it would send out a wrong signal to the supporters that we lack of ambition. There was also a covid factor, so most of the clubs would have been tight on their spending.

2021-2022 Transfer Market
Son renewed his contract on July 23rd, so no team would have come in to get him during this transfer window.
 
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So here is the breakdown based on my quick research:

2016-2017 Transfer Window
Son reportedly wanted to leave Spurs after his unsuccessful adjustment in the PL.

Liverpool wanted him since Son had already rejected Liverpool to join Spurs in 2015.




But Son wanted to go back to Bundesliga, and there was a rumour that he was wanted by Wolfburg.

2017-2018 Transfer Window
Son was 25 years old, and had just scored 21 goals in the 16-17 season. But he had 3 years left in his contract. The article below suggests that Man City was interested in him at this time, but his long contract combined with the Levy factor deterred them from seriously pursuing after him (City just signed Kyle Walker for a world-record 53 million pound deal for a defender during this window).


2018-2019 Transfer Window (2018 Asian Cup & Pending Military Conscription)
Son turned 26 in July of 2018. Many teams would be attracted to footballers at that age with only 2 years left in the contract, but big teams were not interested in Son due to his looming military service (about 2 years).

Had Son not won the Asian Cup to be exempted from the conscription later that summer, he HAD to leave the Premier League before the 2018-2019 season to join a Korean domestic team to be eligible to play for the military football team to continue his football career. To be eligible for the military team, an applicant has to be 27 years or younger, and has played at least 1 continuous year in the domestic league immediately prior to joining the military team.

On July 23rd, Spurs gambled and gave Son a 5 year contract extension on July 23rd (which I believe is the main reason behind Son's unwavering loyalty towards Spurs). Son would not have left Spurs right after getting a 5-year contract extension and being excused from the pre-season to play for Korea in the Asian Cup (the club did not have to let him go since the tournament is not a FIFA sponsored event). Also, the Asian Cup ended on September 2nd, meaning the transfer window had been closed by then any way.

There was a rumour that Bayern was interested in Son for a January sweep after his military exemption. But Son gave an interview that he had recently extended his contract and was happy where he was.



2019-2020 Transfer Window
This is right after our incredible run to the Champions League final. So many teams would have wanted Son, but Son still had whopping 4 years left in his contract (and only 27 years at this time). So imagine the cost to buy him from Levy right after his CL semi-final performance. I saw a couple of news reporting rumours linking Son to Juventus, Liverpool, Napoli, but nothing concrete.

2020-2021 Transfer Market
A couple of teams were reportedly interested in 28-year old Son (just pasting some articles below, don't know how reliable these sources are but there are many articles out there).

Real Madrid, especially Zidane, were reportedly interested in Son, but their priority was Mbappe, and any deal for Son would have far exceeded 100 million pounds, which deterred any serious bid by them.


Bayern were interested in Son as well, but Son was too expensive for his age. Bayern had enough wingers and had a policy of not signing older than 25 years for a certain amount of fee.


I also read an article that the Club did not want to let go of the star players when we just missed out on qualifying for the Champions League, as it would give a wrong signal and lack of ambition to the supporters.

2021-2022 Transfer Market
Son renewed his contract on July 23rd, so no team would have come in to get him during this transfer window.

Brilliant work. That's put to bed the no big team wanting him guff. I think it was backing him through the military service that did for any suitor.. Well done Daniel Levy
 
Brilliant work. That's put to bed the no big team wanting him guff. I think it was backing him through the military service that did for any suitor.. Well done Daniel Levy
His personal relationships at the club also seem to be a big factor. He is very close to Dele, was close to Wimmer. Values his partnership with Kane.

I think he didn't have that at HSV and Leverkusen.
 
So here is the breakdown based on my quick research:

2016-2017 Transfer Window
Son reportedly wanted to leave Spurs after his unsuccessful adjustment in the PL.

Liverpool wanted him since Son had already rejected Liverpool to join Spurs in 2015.




But Son wanted to go back to Bundesliga, and there was a rumour that he was wanted by Wolfburg.

2017-2018 Transfer Window
Son was 25 years old, and had just scored 21 goals in the 16-17 season. But he had 3 years left in his contract. The article below suggests that Man City was interested in him at this time, but his long contract combined with the Levy factor deterred them from seriously pursuing after him (City just signed Kyle Walker for a world-record 53 million pound deal for a defender during this window).


2018-2019 Transfer Window (2018 Asian Cup & Pending Military Conscription)
Son turned 26 in July of 2018. Many teams would be attracted to footballers at that age with only 2 years left in the contract, but big teams were not interested in Son due to his looming military service (about 2 years).

Had Son not won the Asian Cup to be exempted from the conscription later that summer, he HAD to leave the Premier League before the 2018-2019 season to join a Korean domestic team to be eligible to play for the military football team to continue his football career. To be eligible for the military team, an applicant has to be 27 years or younger, and has played at least 1 continuous year in the domestic league immediately prior to joining the military team.

On July 23rd, Spurs gambled and gave Son a 5 year contract extension on July 23rd (which I believe is the main reason behind Son's unwavering loyalty towards Spurs). Son would not have left Spurs right after getting a 5-year contract extension and being excused from the pre-season to play for Korea in the Asian Cup (the club did not have to let him go since the tournament is not a FIFA sponsored event). Also, the Asian Cup ended on September 2nd, meaning the transfer window had been closed by then any way.

There was a rumour that Bayern was interested in Son for a January sweep after his military exemption. But Son gave an interview that he had recently extended his contract and was happy where he was.



2019-2020 Transfer Window
This is right after our incredible run to the Champions League final. So many teams would have wanted Son, but Son still had whopping 4 years left in his contract (and only 27 years at this time). So imagine the cost to buy him from Levy right after his CL semi-final performance. I saw a couple of news reporting rumours linking Son to Juventus, Liverpool, Napoli, but nothing concrete.

2020-2021 Transfer Market
A couple of teams were reportedly interested in 28-year old Son (just pasting some articles below, don't know how reliable these sources are but there are many articles out there).

Real Madrid, especially Zidane, were reportedly interested in Son, but their priority was Mbappe, and any deal for Son would have far exceeded 100 million pounds, which deterred any serious bid by them.


Bayern were interested in Son as well, but Son was too expensive for his age. Bayern had enough wingers and had a policy of not signing older than 25 years for a certain amount of fee.


I also read an article that the Club did not want to let go of the star players when we just missed out on qualifying for the Champions League, as it would give a wrong signal and lack of ambition to the supporters.

2021-2022 Transfer Market
Son renewed his contract on July 23rd, so no team would have come in to get him during this transfer window.

Son must be over the roof he didn’t go back to Wolfsburg!
 


Son's impact on Korean pop-culture must be insane. Any time a Spurs match highlight involves a good game from Son, the video viewership nearly doubles. You've got to assume that most Koreans actually watch on local tv and social media and not youtube/twitter.
 
De Bruyne is different gravy to just about anyone. But I genuinely wouldn't swap Son for Salah, as good as the latter is.
Salah would fuck off at the first sign of trouble. Son signed a new contract under fucking Nuno.
 
De Bruyne is different gravy to just about anyone. But I genuinely wouldn't swap Son for Salah, as good as the latter is.
Imagine if Son gets to shoot more and take all the penalties like Salah does, you sure you think Salah is better?

I think Son would be in a different level if he was in Klopp's system.
 
I meant I wouldn't swap Salah for Son haha. They are both on the same sort of level for me, but Son doesn't seem to get half of his hype. Probably a good thing for us really.
 
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