As his predecessor did before him, Thomas Frank has inherited a rather awkward situation at Tottenham when it comes to the club’s star man.
Two years ago and Ange Postecoglou had to manage a situation where he knew Harry Kane was likely to leave the north London club but he could not say that as Spurs looked to negotiate the highest possible fee from Bayern Munich. Ultimately the Australian had to use Kane in friendly matches, while planning for a season in which he would not be replaced.
Frank arrived this week with a similar but not identical situation with Spurs’ most well-known and respected player Son Heung-min. Unlike Kane there is no certainty that the South Korean star will be departing this summer after 10 years at the club, but with just 12 months left on his contract the likelihood is growing higher with each passing month.
football.london reported earlier this month that Son himself is also more open to a move than he ever has been before, having finally made history in lifting a European title as captain of the north London club. The attacker had admitted to Korean media ahead of the Europa League final last month that he had remained at Spurs in previous years purely because he wanted to do something so few others had been unable to.
Now Son is a legend in the club’s history books, if he wasn’t already, and what he has done for Tottenham over the past decade with 173 goals and 101 assists in 454 appearances means he should be able to decide what comes next for him.
“For now, I think it’s right to wait rather than say anything here since my contract remains,” he told Korean journalists earlier this month. “Many people, including reporters and fans, are very curious. Rather than thinking about the future, I think it’s better to wait and see what happens in my current position. No matter where I am, I’m still a player who has always done my best and worked hard, so I think I should do well.”
In just 18 days’ time, Son will turn 33 and both he and the north London club will reach a crossroads in their long journey together. Son still has the ability to play at whatever level he wants – that could yet be at Spurs with Champions League back on the menu next season – while it is the last chance for the club to get a sizeable fee for a man who remains their most marketable name.
That is despite the fact that Son has locked down most of his own image rights himself across Asia. That’s why you are less likely to see him in a Spurs shirt on billboards on that continent but instead advertising other major companies. Where Tottenham make their money from Son is in not only the shirt deals in the UK, but also the sponsorship and branding that come in partly because of his popularity around the world.
There are also the lucrative tours to Asia, which include contracted appearances by Son, and for the third time in four years Spurs will travel to South Korea this summer, after a few days first in Hong Kong, with games against Arsenal and then Newcastle in each country.
That creates a scenario where Tottenham cannot part with Son, if a separation is agreed, ahead of the trip to his homeland unless they would be compensated for the lost revenue. The club have a young Korean talent in Yang Min-hyeok, but the teenager has a long way to go if he is to reach the incredible levels of fame that his captain, a Premier League icon, has across Asia.
Unless a short-term new contract is signed, both Son and his new head coach will have to answer numerous questions about his future as Postecoglou did with Kane. The England captain was not made available to speak to reporters on that tour to Perth, Bangkok and Singapore in 2023, only appearing awkwardly at one event with a nod and a hello to the assembled media before getting involved in the community aspect of it with the children present.
Son will not have that luxury as he will be expected to speak and so will Frank. It is perhaps telling that the Dane did not mention the club captain at all in his first interview when speaking about the club’s senior players he was looking forward to working with. It might have been a moment of forgetfulness, or something more deliberate or the Dane might have been warned against it by the club due to the uncertainty over what comes next.
One thing is for sure, it’s going to be the awkward topic of the summer until a decision is made either way. For everything that he has done for Tottenham, it should be Son who makes it.
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