Regardless of how he is viewed, Son Heung-min is still a Tottenham legend. Goal? Yes. A symbolic moment? Yes. The love of fans? Yes. Global impact? Yes. Title? Finally, there is.
The South Korean marked his 10th spurs season by bringing home his first trophy for the club since the Carabao Cup in 2008. He was in tears when the final whistle blew in the Europa League final in May.
However, Son's future at Tottenham remains uncertain as usual. Since the story of 2016, when he was offered a return to Germany to play for Wolfsburg after a quiet debut season, there has never been much speculation about the possibility of Son Heung-min leaving like now.
His contract has only one year left, and this could be the last chance for Spurs to sell him for a worthy fee.
Sonny still has the right to decide his own fate. If he wants to end his career at Tottenham in glory and leave before the summer transfer window ends, Son Heung-min has the right to do so. But if he does not really want to leave, the 33-year-old striker will still play an important role in helping new head coach Thomas Frank get through the transition period.
The Korean player is often criticized by fans as being inconsistent and unstable, although that is rarely proven to be a fair assessment. He has scored at least 10 goals in the Premier League in 8 consecutive seasons, winning the Golden Boot of the 2021-2022 season without scoring from the penalty spot. Sonny also reached the double-digit mark of four assists in four other seasons.
However, 2024-2025 is the first campaign since the 2015-2016 season in which Son has failed to score 10 goals in the tournament, instead he has only scored 7 goals in 30 matches. In all competitions, Son Heung-min has scored 11 goals in 46 matches.
At the age of 33, he is no longer suitable for the role of midfielder as coach Ange Postecoglou once affirmed. He also could not put pressure like before, because his speed and ability to break away were not the same as before.
Son is also a regular member of the list of players who travel the most for international missions and play with the highest number of minutes. At club level last season alone, he played for more than 3,000 minutes despite struggling with foot and hamstring injuries.
It will be time for the 33-year-old's body to feel the weight of those journey. However, it is his outstanding physical strength and professional ethics that have helped him maintain his form throughout most of his career, with a total of 753 matches for club and national team to date.
Even with Spurs and Son struggling in a season where they only finished 17th, the team still scored the 7th most goals in the Premier League. They even surpassed Chelsea, the fourth-placed team.
The "Rooster" attack potential is huge and has recently been supplemented by the deal to recruit striker Mohammed Kudus from West Ham for £55 million.
Notably, Frank rarely mentions Son in his responses. And Tottenham are still in contact with a number of other attacking players.
Tottenham are still able to keep Son by extending his contract for another year, until 2027, to avoid losing him on a free transfer. However, they will need to agree to facilitate his departure in 2026. In any case, Son is completely free to decide his next destination.
No matter when and where Son Heung-min leaves, he should be the one to decide because Tottenham owes the Korean player a lot. It would be the best prospect for all parties if that happened in 2026.
