So long as there is investment from the Saudi Arabian government into football, Tottenham Hotspur will continue to deal with questions about the future of Son Heung-min both this offseason and in future transfer windows. Although the 32-year-old is coming off his first piece of major silverware with Spurs to further vindicate his loyalty, his numbers steeply declined in the second half of the season.
For now, Son doesn't appear to be at any serious risk of leaving Tottenham - at least not this summer. You'd be hard-pressed to find a single Tottenham supporter who would want to see Son leave at any price. Even in a down season, the South Korean superstar scored seven goals with nine assists to lead the team in the latter category, and much of his statistical decline in 2024/25 can be ascribed to both a bad team and a nagging foot injury.
Still, the Saudi Arabian clubs are circling, and the transfer rumors are unremitting. The latest from The Telegraph's Sam Wallace purports that Son could still very well leave this summer in a fund-raising move for Tottenham.
Son's situation raises a philosophical question for Tottenham to answer. With only one year left on his contract, the summer 2025 window might be the only chance Spurs get to sell Son. And at 32 years of age, this may be Tottenham's only chance to sell Son for a notable fee, even to the Saudi Pro League.
Tottenham can't keep chasing short-term capital gains
So, then, is it better to sell Son now, earlier than anyone wants him to, and keep all the positive memories on a high with a Europa League title triumph? Or is it better to keep the captain and pillar of the team before the Champions League campaign and not alienate an increasingly exhausted fanbase even further?
The right answer to most people is to keep the human side in mind and keep Son, but Tottenham aren't really known for taking that kind of approach under Daniel Levy. Ever the ruthless businessman, Levy, almost always to a fault, has sought to maximize his team's capital gains whenever possible.
In this case, the maximization route would clearly point towards a Son transfer to Saudi Arabia. And the one thing that could keep that from happening for Levy is Son himself remaining loyal to Tottenham and wanting to compete at the highest level of football instead of trading his position for a few million extra bucks in Saudi.
Taking a broader view, how Tottenham approach the inevitable summer 2025 transfer offers for Captain Sonny will raise an even more important philosophical question for Spurs. And it is this: What kind of club do Tottenham Hotspur want to be in this era of football? A downtrodden financial farm masquerading as a big club that will callously turn its most beloved figure into spare change? Or a proud club willing to believe in players and build a culture of winning, foregoing a cheap profit that would ultimately be a drop in the bucket of an overall five-year revenue picture? The choice is one man's to make, rather unfortunately, and not up to the millions in the sea.