Tottenham Hotspur skipper Son Heung-min has been linked with a move away from Hotspur Way this summer window, and we are into the pre-season, but there is still no clarity over the South Korean international’s future at N17, and it has now started to become a much talked-about story among the supporters.
The former Bayer Leverkusen ace is reportedly open to a new challenge following nearly a decade of service donning the Lilywhites badge, and a lot about his trophy lift in May felt like a possible final chapter in his time in North London. But now we are nearing the start of a new season, and Son is back at Hotspur Way and has already featured in the pre-season friendly when he took the field in the North Londoners 2-0 win over Reading on July 19.
And moreover, if we consider the fact that incoming head coach Thomas Frank is yet to name a permanent captain of the roster, which should give us a lot of clues, as the new boss continues to keep his cards close, with the situation of Son definitely not helping.
The North Londoners cannot afford to leave Son behind right now, with the pre-season tour for Asia generally heavily built around him, and without the South Korean in the squad, Tottenham will reportedly lose up to 75% of their revenue from the Seoul fixture alone (via The Telegraph).
The thing is, if he travels but doesn’t play, that income is still cut by 50%. The report claims that there is also a “key player clause” tied to Son being part of the action in Asia, so selling the 33-year-old before the tour is unlikely. I would go so far as to say that it would be pretty much off the table even in considerations by chiefs at N17 until at least after August 3.
But this has left the North Londoners with more questions than answers, and one of them is whether the club are planning to keep him around solely for marketing reasons rather than footballing ones. And if Levy is doing so, what kind of message does that send?
If Tottenham do end up selling Son even late in the window, Frank does have talent at his disposal to take over the reins from the South Korean given the recent arrival of Mohammed Kudus and conversion of Tel’s loan into a permanent one. But it doesn’t end there, given Wilson Odobert will want to make his mark too, while Mikey Moore is also a potential high-ceiling talent in the position.
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