View: Son Heung-min has been more than just a goalscorer for Tottenham this season
Son Heung-min might be leading the way in terms of goals scored for Tottenham this season, but the South Korea international has offered so much more than just putting the ball in the back of the net.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have made a fantastic start to the 2023/24 campaign. They sit top of the Premier League having yet to taste defeat in the top flight, and it is fair to say that Son’s goals have gone a long way in helping them get to this position.
The 31-year-old has found the back of the net six times already in the league this season, with only Manchester City’s goal machine Erling Halaand boasting a better total with eight. In the absence of Harry Kane, Son has certainly stepped up to the plate.
A closer look at the captain’s numbers suggests he is doing much more than initially meets the eye.
According to data provided by Wyscout, as many supporters would expect considering he is the club’s top scorer this season, Son is also leading the way in terms of his XG – expected goals – (3.87) in the Premier League among his Spurs teammates.
In addition, when his XG and XA – expected assists – per 90 are added together (0.81), he once again comes out on top when compared with his Tottenham counterparts, and sits fifth in the entire top flight for this particular metric.
Overall, as mentioned above, these numbers are to be expected considering the number of goals he has already scored, however, it is his team play and build-up play that really catches the eye.
In terms of second assists among Tottenham players, he sits joint-top alongside James Maddison with two, with the duo sitting joint-second in the entire Premier League. Wyscout defines a second assist as “the last action of a player from the goalscoring team, prior to an assist by a teammate”.
One of Son’s two second assists came during Spurs’ 5-2 win at Burnley, and would eventually lead to him grabbing a goal for himself. While in a two on two-on-two situation with Manor Solomon, Son picked out the winger and continued his run toward the box.
Solomon drew the two Burnley players toward him, allowing Son to continue his run into the box and receive the ball, before finishing superbly to level the contest.
Son would go on to score a hattrick during the match, but it is moments like these, his clever link-up play and off-the-ball movement, which really demonstrates the quality of the forward.
He showcased this once again during the 2-0 win away at Bournemouth. As seen in the image above, the South Korean receives the ball and plays it back to Destiny Udogie who crossed it across the face of goal where Dejan Kulusevski, who had made a clever run across the box, guided it home.
Son has also had the most shots (24) among Spurs players, the second-highest number of touches in the penalty area (46) and the second-highest number of key passes (10), fifth in the league overall for this particular metric.
This goes to show, that should Son’s goals dry up during the season for whatever reason, fans don’t need to worry, as the striker offers plenty more to the side than just finding the back of the net.
In other Tottenham news, Postecoglou has hinted at a selection decision ahead of the game with Fulham on Monday 23 October.