View: Son Heung-min’s South Korea performance shows he should continue up front for Tottenham
The last time Tottenham were in Premier League action, Son Heung-min was preferred over Richarlison through the middle, and Ange Postecoglou’s decision paid dividends.
When Spurs travelled to Burnley to take on Vincent Kompany’s men at Turf Moor on 2 September, supporters would have expected to see a front three of Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison announced when the line-ups dropped at 2pm.
Instead, to the surprise of many, Postecoglou had decided to leave Brazil’s number nine on the bench, just days after he had got off the mark and scored his first goal of the season, opting instead to play Son up top, bringing in Manor Solomon on the left.
It seemed a strange decision initially. Richarlison had been struggling for form during the opening three league games of the season but finally grabbed a goal in the Carabao Cup. This would have done his confidence the world of good, and fans would have expected his manager to give him the opportunity to build on that goal and create some momentum.
Nonetheless, the Australian decided he had seen enough of the 26-year-old, and his decision to play Son as a striker ended up proving to be the right choice, as the South Korea international grabbed a hattrick in a 5-2 win.
Therefore, Son would have jetted off on his international duties full of confidence, although it didn’t seem this way in his first match against Wales on 7 September, which ended as a 0-0 draw. On this occasion, the South Korea captain struggled to make an impact, managing just one shot on target as well as one key pass, while only succeeding with one of his three attempted dribbles (Sofascore).
While this would have caused some worries among Spurs supporters, his more recent international performance, during a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia at St James’ Park on Tuesday 12 September, would have eased those concerns.
Playing up front once again, Son was awarded the highest matching rating of any outfield player as per Sofascore, registering an 8.2, despite not scoring. The 31-year-old had two shots on target, completed 81 per cent of his passes, with seven of them being key, and created two big chances.
He also provided four accurate crosses into the box from the five he attempted and played one accurate long ball forward.
It was a performance which proved he should continue playing his football as a number nine, starting on Saturday 16 September, when Tottenham host Sheffield United.
In other Tottenham news, one other international star is returning to Hotspur Way in fine form.