Why Heung Min Son Should Forget Leaving Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur’s Heung Min Son has had a strange season.

One moment it looks like his powers are declining, the next he’s as good as ever.

It was probably best illustrated by the game against Leicester City, which he didn’t start due to poor form, but then dominated with a spectacular 13-minute hat trick when arriving as sub.

Even after delivering this magnificent display, there was something downbeat about the South Korean star.

“I always felt like I disappointed the team,” he told the media post-game, adding “my frustrations are going away.”

But in the matches that followed it looks like there are still some lingering irritations. He’s not dispatching difficult chances with the same regularity he used to but has runs and touches that show any talk of a decline is well wide of the mark.

Even more unusual than his erratic form on the pitch were recent reports in the German media suggesting he was thinking about departing the North London club.

According to outlet SPORT1, Son was “preparing for his next career” with interested parties including “Paris Saint-Germain, FC Bayern Munich [and] Real Madrid.”

If Son is thinking about leaving Spurs, he should probably have a word with fellow star player Harry Kane. Who’ll tell him: ‘It’s not easy.’

‘The gentleman’s agreement’

Last summer Harry Kane’s desire to leave Tottenham Hotspur was one of the game’s worst-kept secrets.

The England striker didn’t just want to join Manchester City, he felt he’d been promised it.

Reports emerged suggesting Kane believed he had a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with notoriously tough negotiator Daniel Levy to depart.

He needed it. The contract he had with Spurs had three years remaining so the club’s bargaining position was strong.

But as the summer progressed and Manchester City began bidding, there was little sign that any perceived deal was having an impact.

It got to a point where ex-pros began to criticize him for believing one would hold sway in the first place.

“I think if Harry is relying on a gentleman’s agreement with someone who is notoriously difficult to look in the eye, apparently, then I think he’s been foolish and a bit naive,” Andy Townsend told TalkSport at the time.

“To do his last contract and rely and trust on a handshake of somebody [Levy] who has the reputation of being the toughest out there to deal with then it’s naive from Harry.”

Townsend claimed Kane’s position was so weak he’d need to do something drastic to have an impact.

“If Harry Kane is going to now try and force a situation, he’s going to have to be prepared to go to lengths he wouldn’t have dreamed about,” the former Aston Villa defender continued.

“I’m not sure Harry Kane has that sort of mindsight or has it in him to do what Diego Costa did when he wanted to leave Chelsea or when Chelsea wanted to sell him to Atletico Madrid.

“He just stayed out in south America and said ‘I ain’t coming home’ until the phone rings to tell me the deal’s done.

“That is out of order, that is never good and not a nice scenario for a player to be in.”

Townsend’s prediction turned out to be relatively accurate, Kane was not willing to go to the extremes that others were.

Eventually, he backed down and applied himself with the same application he was always known for.

But if there was one lesson from the saga it was that Tottenham Hotspurs’ hierarchy will not bend even in the face of its most popular star’s discontent.

So if it didn’t work for Kane, why would it be different for Son?

A decade-long commitment

Ironically, it was while the Harry Kane transfer saga was playing out that Son pledged his future to Tottenham Hotspur.

Having spent six years in North London, the South Korean used a contract extension to theoretically tie himself to the club for a decade.

But that means Son is in an almost identical position to his teammate last year. There are 3 years still to run on his current deal and his market value is high.

His form has not fallen to a level where anyone at Spurs would consider him disposable, despite being dropped for the first time in years this season.

So if he wants to leave this leaves one choice, he goes eye to eye with Levy, which let’s face it, only has one winner.

Many fans will applaud the conviction of tying a player to a long-term deal and sticking to it.

But it begs the question of will the club be able to in the future.

As former player and manager Tim Sherwood pointed out, coach Antonio Conte has only a short-term agreement with the club, with his deal expiring at the end of the season.

“He’s not signed a new contract,” Sherwood pointed out on Sky Sports, “you are asking Harry Kane and Son to extend their contracts [but] why would you?”

A year since he agitated for a move, Kane is now entering the last stages of the 6-year-deal which has so wedded him to Spurs.

If he does sign afresh it would be surprising if the duration was even half the previous one’s length.