Son Heung-min Is As Good As The Superstars Of English Football And He Deserves More Plaudits
Premier League football has witnessed plenty of ups and downs over the years, but Tottenham Hotspur’s upsurge under Mauricio Pochettino has to be the most notable one especially in an era when money is ruling the world of football. Spurs, the North London heavyweights, have always been in the shadow of their local rivals Arsenal.
However, they successfully clinched a second-placed league finish last season, much above the Gunners (who failed to secure even a Champions League spot) and were closest challengers of league champions Chelsea.
Tottenham have a youthful squad who are working as a unit under young Argentine gaffer Mauricio Pochettino. The likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, and Christian Eriksen have emerged as Premier League’s brightest of attackers who have performed exceptionally well in Spurs’ attacking third.
One of Tottenham Hotspur’s stars, however, has been immensely underrated despite being one of their most consistent performers since last summer. We are talking about 25-year-old South Korean attacker Son Heung-min who has settled in well since joining the Premier League giants a couple of years back on a £22million fee from Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen.
Although he struggled to have much game-time in his maiden Premier League campaign due to the scintillating form of Erik Lamela, Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen in the frontline, Son grabbed his opportunities last season due to the injuries of Argentine wingman Lamela, as well as hitman Harry Kane for a few game weeks.
The South Korean international appeared 34 times (23 starts) in the league last term where he netted 14 goals and registered 6 assists. Statistically, he was on par with the likes of Eden Hazard, Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho – footballers, who are lauded as Premier League’s most valued attackers in terms of influence, quality, as well as the impact on the game.
Hazard appeared 36 times last season in the league for the Blues where he found the net on 16 occasions and assisted 5 times. Coutinho, Liverpool’s Samba sensation, netted 13 and assisted 7 times in 28 league starts (31 appearances altogether in Premier League).
Sadio Mane, who became Liverpool’s Player of the Season for 2016-17 and was also included in Premier League’s Team of the Year, managed 26 starts in the league and scored 13 goals and 5 assists during the previous campaign. Son performed efficiently in both the wings and also as the second striker but never received enough acknowledgements despite being as good as the superstars of English football.
Son scored a sensational goal against Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League opener where the North London heavyweights secured a comfortable 3-1 win against the Bundesliga big guns. In spite of his excellence, the wingman’s place in Spurs’ starting XI is not secured enough as he has only managed 3 substitute appearances among 4 of Tottenham’s league outings this season.
But the player does not seem to be worried about his game-time and is confident of quietly continuing his good work for the North Londoners.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no7lz5mtGME