Son Heung-min 'on The Verge' Of A 'megaton' $25 Billion Lifetime Contract...rested And Ready To Go
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Amid speculation of a megaton contract offer, Tottenham Hotspur's Heung-min Son is ready to score his 11th goal of the season.
Tottenham will host Nottingham Forest in the 17th round of the 2023/24 Premier League at the City Ground in Nottingham, England, at 5 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Spurs are back in contention for the title. Spurs remain in fifth place (9 W, 3 D, 4 L - 33 points), three points behind fourth-place Manchester City (10 W, 3 D, 3 L - 33 points). Nottingham, on the other hand, is in 16th place (3 W, 5 D, 8 L - 14 points).
Spurs have had their ups and downs recently, but they have rebounded from a bad run. Starting with a 1-4 loss to Chelsea in Round 11, Spurs lost four straight games. A 3-3 draw against Manchester City in Round 14 was followed by a 1-2 loss to West Ham in Round 15, and they seemed to falter again.
In their Round 16 match against Newcastle United on Nov. 11, Tottenham cruised to a 4-1 victory thanks to a goal from Destiny Udogie, a brace from Heucharlison, and a penalty kick wedge from Son Heung-min.
Son started on the left wing against Newcastle as usual. He made way for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who started up front for the first time since returning from injury.
Back on the left, Son dominated the flank. He completely destroyed his former Tottenham teammate Kieran Trippier to set up his team's goal.
In the 28th minute of the first half, Heung-min set up Udogi's first goal by breaking down Trippier once. Ten minutes later, he again beat Trippier to a cut-back pass that set up Hischarlison's second goal.
In the 39th minute of the second half, Heung-min was awarded a penalty kick by goalkeeper Martin Dubravka and converted it himself. He scored his 10th goal of the season to move into sole possession of third place in the league.
With this goal, Son has now scored in double figures in eight consecutive seasons, dating back to the 2016/17 campaign. He joins Sadio Mane, Thierry Henry, Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero, Frank Lampard, and Wayne Rooney in Premier League history. He also added two assists on the day, finishing with one goal and two assists.
Son spoke of his delight at facing his former teammate. "Trippier is one of my close friends," he told Sky Sports after the game. I had a good time at Tottenham," he said, adding that he has a good relationship with Trippier.
However, he added: "There are no friends in the game. I wanted to beat him," he said. "He's a great defender. It was a tough match, but I'm ready to play wherever the team needs me." === Coach Anzhi Postecoglou, who deployed Son on the flank rather than up top, said: "He's in good form and central striker is his best position. We've seen in the last few weeks that most of our attacking chances come from players in space. Son Heung-min is still our best striker. I thought playing him on the left would give us more ways to score goals."
As Postecoglou intended, Son will be challenging for more attacking spots on the left wing for the time being. What's more, Nottingham's form hasn't been great lately, with one draw and four defeats in their last five games. With 13 goals conceded in those five games, Nottingham's defense has been off-balance, and Son is well worth a second straight goal.
Tottenham won all three League Two games last season, Nottingham's first season of promotion. Heung-min scored his eighth goal of the season in the 17th minute of the 27th round home match, assisted by Hischarlisson.
Heung-min's performance against Nottingham came amidst megaton contract news surrounding him.
British publication Football Insider reported on Friday that "Son wants to stay at Tottenham for the rest of his career. Tottenham are also preparing to offer Son a huge contract extension. The 31-year-old has been impressed by the influence of manager Enzi Postecoglou and wants to play a key role in the team."
Earlier, Football London predicted the next signings after the re-signing of Destiny Udogie, with the midfielder seen as an unconditional signing alongside Pape Sarr.
Both outlets predicted that Tottenham will exercise a one-year extension option on Son, whose contract ends in June 2025.
First, Football Insider reported, "Tottenham will exercise the one-year extension option on Son Heung-min's contract to keep him at the club until June 2026. They can then begin negotiations with the player for a new long-term contract."
Football London, on the other hand, has a slightly different view. "He has a year and a half left on his contract (which expires in June 2025), but Tottenham have an option to extend it for another year," they write, adding, "They will not repeat the example of letting Harry Kane leave this year. Son Heung-min also wants to stay at Tottenham."
The "Kane saga" refers to Tottenham failing to re-sign Kane and eventually selling him to German giants Bayern Munich for just under 100 million euros ($143 million) last summer, a year before his contract expired.
According to a report by Football London, Tottenham appear to be weighing up signing a new deal with Son rather than exercising the option of a one-year extension under his previous contract. This is because exercising the option for a one-year extension would mean little more than pushing back homework by a year.==== This would mean that Son, who joined Tottenham in 2015, could be playing for the club for well over a decade. Reports have been circulating since the first half of the year that Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad want Son, but the South Korean international has made it clear that he has no intention of going to the Middle East.
If he re-signs, Son's salary is also expected to jump. Son is reportedly earning £190,000 a week, or about $314.5 million. That puts his annual wages at £9.88 million ($16.4 billion). Harry Kane's departure from Tottenham has left him as the highest paid player in the world, and if he re-signs with the club, it could be closer to 20 billion won, or even 25 billion won.
Heung-min appeared on a TV program last summer and said he would be willing to spend the rest of his career in the K League. However, it is still difficult to predict how Son's soccer career will turn out, but if the new contract is finalized as the club has assured him, he will play for Tottenham for almost a lifetime.
Tottenham's push for a near-lifetime deal is likely due to the unwavering confidence in Postecoglou, who took over last summer.
"Postecoglou said Son is 'elite in every way' and will be a great player for Tottenham," The Guardian reported on June 6.
Postecoglou, who chose Son as his captain before kickoff, seems to be leaning on him more and more as time goes on. "I've been lucky to play with good strikers, but as you know, Heung-min is elite in every way among Premier League strikers," Postecoglou said, according to The Guardian.
"If he stays on track, I'd be very surprised if he's not one of the top strikers when it's all said and done, because they've forgotten that he's a threatening goal scorer despite playing most of his career on the flanks."
Son has been a left winger for most of his career, but in September, he switched to the center back position. Since making the switch, Son has already scored nine goals, making him Tottenham's new number nine. Despite his recent switch back to winger, Postecoglou's "Son Heung-min shift" has been a huge success.
"I'm putting him in the box and that's why he's scored nine goals already this year," says Postecoglou. "He's a great player, I knew that before I came to Tottenham. "He's a great player, and I knew that before I came to Tottenham," he said, "and the example he sets every day is that he's as good as a human being as a soccer player.
"I'm very grateful to be able to work with him," he said, revealing his affection for Son Heung-min.
Postecoglou said the team will continue to build around the South Korean. "He's going to be a very important part of what we're building," he explained.
"But that doesn't mean we won't bring in other strikers," he added, "because I think he will demand that from me. I know that when you build a team that can win, the best players want more of the good ones."
"The other players are motivated to succeed, but I have no doubt that Son will play a big part in this," he said, reiterating his importance. Postecoglou's undisputed ace in the hole is Son, who has signed a four-year contract with Spurs.
In addition, the South Korean has been the top scorer in the Premier League this season, wiping the slate clean from last season.
He exploded for a hat-trick in Tottenham's 5-2 win over Burnley on September 3. At the time, Heung-min had a rating of 9.61. That's the seventh-highest single-game rating for a single player in the Premier League this season.
Son had actually cooled off before the Burnley game. He started on the left wing in the first three rounds, but didn't have his trademark breakthroughs or goals. As a captain, he focused on being a helper rather than a solver. He moved like a playmaker. Tottenham got off to a fast start with a 2-1 win, but Son didn't seem to be in as good of form as Heung-min.
Against Burnley, it was different. Ange Postecoglou, who arrived at Tottenham last summer, used the so-called "nail" tactic of playing Son in the center of the pitch after the club's previous striker, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, struggled in the middle, and it worked immediately.
Son scored his first goal of the season and the equalizer in the 16th minute, trailing 1-0, after receiving a pass from left wing Manor Solomon and finishing with a stunning right-footed lob from the right side of the penalty area.
Burnley took advantage of a gap in the defense's line up high for a buildup play. The ball was played in from the back to Son Heung-min, who made a good catch and released Solomon. Solomon drew the defense's attention and found Son again. Heung-min found himself one-on-one with the keeper and calmly finished with a right-footed lob that took a slight flick as the keeper stepped forward.
Then, in the 18th minute of the second half, with Spurs leading 3-1, Solomon's cut-back pass was met with an emphatic right-footed finish. After dribbling down the left flank, Solomon cut back to Son Heung-min, who was a beat late. Heung-min slid the ball in with his right foot unchallenged to complete his multi-goal performance.
In the 21st minute of the second half, he calmly converted a pass from Pedro Foro with a left-footed shot to complete his hat trick. The three-goal barrage quickly broke Son's goal drought this season, and he came off the bench in the 27th minute for a substitute in the shape of Hischarlison. Having seen the effectiveness of the 'No. 9', Tottenham again deployed him up front in the North London derby against Arsenal on March 24, the sixth round of the league and the 194th of his career. Heung-min once again lived up to his manager's expectations, scoring two goals against Spurs' biggest rival. His performance helped Tottenham to a 2-2 draw against Arsenal.
Son's performance against Arsenal was widely praised, as he was the first player to score two goals against the Gunners since the Premier League began in 1992. Tottenham legends Harry Kane and Gareth Bale had never scored more than two goals at the Emirates Stadium, but Son did it. 토토사이트
Following his perfect scores against Burnley and Arsenal, Son continued his momentum and scored the opening goal in a 2-1 win at home against Liverpool in the seventh round of the league on Jan. 1. Taking advantage of being outnumbered after a Liverpool player was sent off, Heung-min slotted home a cutback from Philippe Coutinho for his sixth league goal.
He followed that up with his seventh in a 2-0 home win over Fulham on Oct. 24. Son started and played until the 37th minute of the second half, scoring his team's first goal and setting up Maddison's goal in the second half to earn his first assist of the season. With the goal, Son moved into a tie for second place on the league scoring list.
On Oct. 28, she scored the game-winner in a 2-1 win away at Crystal Palace.
The goal came in the 21st minute of the second half when Johnson played the ball to Maddison after a pass from Sarr, who in turn played a cutback pass to Son, who finished with a precise left-footed shot from the center of the penalty box.
For more than a month afterward, Son's goal-scoring drought was over, but against one of Europe's most dominant teams, his feet were on fire.
Spurs took the lead in the sixth minute of the first half. The goal was scored by none other than Tottenham's captain, Son Heung-min.
After clearing a City corner, Tottenham immediately attacked on the counterattack. Kulusevski spotted Son, who was rushing forward from the center line, and played a penetrating pass forward. With the ball in hand, Heung-min sprinted toward the penalty box. Heung-min ran all the way to the edge of the box to stop him, but he managed to get inside the box.
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