When it comes to the modern legends of Tottenham Hotspur, almost everyone’s first thought will be Harry Kane.
After all, the England captain is the club’s all-time top goalscorer and dominated Premier League defences for years and years.
However, he did so alongside the sensationally gifted Son Heung-min, who, unlike the striker, has remained in North London and shown a sort of loyalty that is increasingly rare in the modern game.
The South Korean superstar has amassed a staggering 448 appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring 173 goals, providing 95 assists, and making himself an icon of the club and league.
However, as he’s turning 33 in the summer, Ange Postecoglou and Co need to start thinking about who is going to replace him, and they might already have the answer.
Son's potential replacements
So, before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other options Postecoglou could but probably shouldn’t turn to next season.
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Up first is Mathys Tel, who may only be on loan at the moment but has a £45m option to buy in his deal, and based on comments earlier this season, it feels like an option that could be activated.
However, while the Frenchman most certainly can play out wide, his long-term future should probably be down the middle, as across his career to date, that has been his most played position, and it was only a few days ago that he scored two goals for the French U21 side there.
The other candidate to step in for Son next season is Hotspur Way’s own Mikey Moore.
The up-and-coming talent has played in a number of positions in the academy, but without a doubt, his most natural is off the left, where he has also made most of his appearances for the first team.
However, at just 17 years old, he has the opposite problem to the South Korean, in that he’s still going to be too young to start the majority of games next season and likely the season after.
Fortunately, there is another tremendously exciting left-winger in the squad who is a few years older than Moore and could very much be Son’s replacement next year and beyond.
The Spurs ace who should replace Son
While the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, Timo Werner and even James Maddison can all play out wide, we are willing to bet that no Spurs fan wants to see them there.
Therefore, the best option to replace the captain in the starting lineup on a consistent basis is summer signing Wilson Odobert.
Now, it would be fair to say that as debut seasons go, this has not been a great one for the £25m Frenchman, but that is not his fault, as he’s suffered two hamstring injuries which saw him miss 34 games.
However, in the few minutes he has played, he has looked explosive and dangerous, as if he can make something happen, which is just the sort of winger Postecoglou needs in his all-action system.
For example, it was his brace against AZ Alkmaar that put the team into the next round of the Europa League.
Moreover, despite playing for a Burnley team that were ultimately relegated last season, the “extraordinary” 20-year-old, as dubbed by football journalist Andres Onrubia Ramos, scored three goals and provided three assists in 29 appearances.
Progressive Carries
4.38
Top 1%
Progressive Carrying Distance
125.22
Top 1%
Carries into Final Third
2.40
Top 3%
Successful Take-Ons
2.27
Top 5%
Carries into Penalty Area
2.06
Top 5%
Crosses into Penalty Area
0.21
Top 7%
Crosses
1.50
Top 9%
Ball Recoveries
4.03
Top 11%
Expected Assists
0.15
Top 15%
Finally, the Meaux-born ace’s underlying numbers from last season further indicate he’s a superstar in the making as, per FBref, he was in the top 1% of forwards in the Premier League for progressive carries and progressive carrying distance, the top 3% for carries into the final third, the top 5% for successful take-ons, the top 7% for crosses into the Penalty area and more, all per 90.
Ultimately, Son is a Spurs icon, but given his age, he needs to be slowly taken out of the team next season, and when he is, Odobert could be just the man to step up and replace him.
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