Tottenham signing Son Heung-min should become a fan favourite who will provide direct competition for Erik Lamela out wide

Tottenham have signed Son Heung-min from Bayer Leverkusen for £21.9m
Korean international made his name as a teenager for Hamburg
At Bayer, Son thrived in Roger Schmidt’s high-energy pressing game
Son primarily plays on the left wing but is no stranger to the right flank too
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Published:
12:39 GMT, 28 August 2015

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Updated:
00:02 GMT, 29 August 2015

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After a week of negotiations, barbs and rumours, Son Heung-min finally completed a £21.9million move to Tottenham Hotspur on Friday.

It is a transfer which has caused understandable excitement in North London, and equally understandable anger in Leverkusen. The German club are ostensibly devastated to have lost one of their most potent attacking forces.

So who is Son Heung-Min, and how will the Korean international fit in to Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham side?

Tottenham have signed Son Heung-Min for £21.9m from Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year deal

Where did he come from?

Son is one of many players who have benefitted from the recent trend of Bundesliga clubs investing in young talent from South Korea and Japan.

He joined Hamburg in 2008 at the age of 16, and soon became a key figure in what was supposed to be a new golden generation for the club. From 2010 onwards, he became a stalwart of a Hamburg team with mixed fortunes, electrifying an often cumbersome side with his pace and technical brilliance.

In his final year at the club, his 12 goals in 33 appearances contributed to Hamburg’s most successful season in recent years, as the club finished seventh in 2012-13.

He then disappointed Hamburg fans by switching to Bayer Leverkusen. After Sidney Sam and Levin Oztunali, he was the third of a young generation of Hamburg talents to be snapped up by Leverkusen. A fourth would follow next summer in the shape of Hakan Calhanoglu.

Son made his name as a teenager shining for Hamburg with his pace and technical brilliance

In his final season for Hamburg, Son netted 12 goals in 33 appearances as they finished seventh

What’s his playing style?

Both at Hamburg and Leverkusen, Son has been employed primarily out wide, where he is able to make maximum use of his speed. He has also doubled up in a more central role, though, playing just behind the centre forward.

At Leverkusen, he has thrived in Roger Schmidt’s high-energy pressing game, and was a crucial element of the team’s ability to strike swiftly and ruthlessly once they won the ball back.

Bayer Leverkusen’s high-energy pressing game and his speed made Son a key component of their side

Is he well-liked by the fans and his team-mates?

Up until this point, yes. Son’s move to Leverkusen obviously upset Hamburg fans, though the club know that they have made good business – with them set to receive 10 per cent of the fee Tottenham have paid for him.

Nicknamed ‘Sonny’, Son had an emotional bond to the club at which he had burst onto the scene, and many thought that at Leverkusen, he would miss the familial atmosphere which he cherished at Hamburg. But Son has endeared himself to his Leverkusen colleagues over the last two years, hence the outrage at the manner of his departure.

Despite upsetting both Hamburg and Bayer with his departures, Son (right) was well-liked at both clubs

Many were angered at the fact that Son failed to turn up to training on Wednesday, just hours before Leverkusen’s crucial Champions League tie against Lazio. Coach Roger Schmidt described the transfer as ‘a sad decision from Sonny’, while team mate Calhanoglu said he was ‘disappointed’, and thought Son had been ‘badly advised’ by his famously pushy father. Son countered the accusation, saying that ‘people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones’, a reference to the way Calhanoglu had forced his own transfer to Leverkusen from Hamburg last season.

Despite the bitter nature of his departure, though, Son is generally a well-liked player, and should become a favourite of fans and team-mates alike at Tottenham.

Bayer star Hakan Calhanoglu (centre) and manager Roger Schmidt have both criticised Son for his departure

Where will he fit in to Pochettino’s team?

It has been mooted that Son has been bought as an alternative to Saido Berahino. The Korean will certainly add a similar dynamism to the Tottenham attack, but the comparisons largely stop there. While Berahino is an out and out striker, Son is primarily a wide player.

In this respect, Son may provide direct competition for Erik Lamela. The Korean will certainly expect to be playing regularly, having been a first-team fixture for both Leverkusen and Hamburg in the last few years. Though Son is primarily used on the left, he is no stranger to the right wing, and it will be interesting to see how Pochettino deals with having two gifted wide players to pick from.