Son Heung-min: A journey from Leverkusen prodigy to Tottenham match-winner

When Son Heung-min left Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2015, a few eyebrows were raised. There was the fee, for a start. Tottenham Hotspur paid €30 million for the then 23-year-old South Korean, a price the German club felt weighed heavily in their favour. Ian Hawkey reports.

Tottenham’s Son Heung-min scores their first goal against CSKA Moscow. John Sibley / Reuters

When Son Heung-min left Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2015, a few eyebrows were raised. There was the fee, for a start. Tottenham Hotspur, flush on the income that a new bonanza of a television deal was to pump into Premier League club treasuries, paid the German club not far shy of €30 million (Dh121m). No Asian player had ever worn so high a pricetag as the then 23-year-old forward.

The view from Leverkusen, who host Tottenham in the Uefa Champions League on Tuesday, was mixed. Son had been at the club for two years, since he was plucked from Hamburg for about half as a much as Leverkusen sold him for. The Bundesliga valued him, and had been his home throughout an impressive apprenticeship.

Hamburg had reason to congratulate themselves, having scouted a prodigy in South Korea. He became their youngest league goalscorer, at 18. His work-rate, his pace on the left flank, his eye for goal were all admired.

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But the Tottenham offer seemed too big to resist. As the ubiquitous pundit and former Leverkusen executive Reiner Calmund put it: “With a sum between €25m-€30m on the table, there’s only one answer: Put him on a first-class plane out and say ‘Farewell!’. OK, Son has a decent record of goals and performance level. But he is not world-class, and he will never become that.”

Calmund is a bit of a motormouth, but he seemed to have assessed Son’s capabilities with reasonable accuracy if you look over his first season at Tottenham. The Korean, added to a Spurs squad already full of creative attacking players, was hampered by injury but struggled, even when fit, to make an impression.

After 12 months, and 13 starts in Tottenham’s sustained but ultimately failed chase for the English title, he was minded to go back to Germany, where Wolfsburg had a contract agreed.

Tottenham’s manager, Mauricio Pochettino, felt adamant the player should stay in North London. There was a difference of opinion for a while and Son had a stressful August, disappointed by his country’s poor showing at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, frustrated at his position in the hierarchy at Tottenham.

Fast forward a few weeks, and the panorama has changed utterly. A great run of form saw him named the Premier League’s Player of the Month for September.

He has been, Pochettino, beamed, “on fire”, though the Tottenham manager studiously doused the player’s ardour by leaving him on the bench for Saturday’s 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion, in order that Son could be fresh for Tuesday’s encounter in a poised Group E, where Tottenham, in second place, are a point and one spot above unbeaten Leverkusen.

The Korean had travelled long distances across the Gulf during the international break, for Korea’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Qatar and Iran.

Against Qatar, he registered his sixth goal in as many games, to earn a 3-2 win. Immediately before, he had galvanised Tottenham’s Premier League win over Manchester City, with his engaging mix of elegance on the ball and energetic pressing and harrying, qualities prized by his manager.

He set up one of the goals against City and has been the most effective match-winner for Tottenham in their best start to a top-flight season in more than half a century. He netted twice against Middlesbrough last month, and two more, plus an assist, in the 4-0 victory against Stoke City.

“I did think about leaving in the summer,” Son admits, “But now I am pleased I stayed.”

So is Pochettino. Thanks to Son, Spurs have their Champions League campaign back on track, after an opening day defeat at home to Monaco. He struck the only goal of the game at CSKA Moscow. Leverkusen will welcome him back with trepidation on his current form.

Calmund, who will be offering opinions over the airwaves, ought to ready himself to revise his view of the Korean.

FIXTURES:

All kick-off times are UAE

Tuesday

• Bayer Leverkusen v Tottenham Hotspur

• CSKA Moscow v AS Monaco

• Real Madrid v Legia Warsaw

• Sporting Club Lisbon v Borussia Dortmund

• Club Brugges v Porto

• Leicester City v Copenhagen

• Dynamo Zagreb v Sevilla

• Lyon v Juventus

Wednesday

• Arsenal v Ludogorets Razgrad

• Paris Saint-Germain v Basel

• Dynamo Kiev v Benfica

• Napoli v Besiktas

• Barcelona v Manchester City

• Celtic v Borussia Monchengladbach

• Bayern Munich v PSV Eindhoven

• Rostov v Atletico Madrid

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