One of the biggest yet-unanswered questions about Tottenham Hotspur is the future of Son Heung-Min. A season after captaining Spurs to the Europa League title, Son has reportedly been open to the idea of leaving Tottenham for what would be the final years of his career. He’s been reportedly the subject of interest from several clubs in the Saudi Premier League, but is more interested in a particular lifestyle over huge wages in the Middle East.
That has led to links to, and apparently discussions with, Los Angeles FC in MLS. According to and “exclusive” in FootballAsian.com, if Son were to leave Spurs this summer a move to LAFC is the most likely, but at present it looks as though he is set to stay at Tottenham for one more season.
Los Angeles would be an attractive destination for Son for a couple of reasons — it’s a major American city that more closely matches Son’s “personal and lifestyle” considerations than, say, Riyadh, and Son is attracted by the large Korean expat population in the LA area. According to the report, LAFC has set aside a designated player spot that could be used for Son, should he decide to make the move. LA would also be a closer flight back to Korea than London for his national team duties (though Saudi Arabia would be even closer).
The report, however, says that the most likely option is that Son will see out his Tottenham contract and decide his future then. Spurs are reportedly allowing Son to make his own decision about his future, as a transfer fee for a move to MLS is likely to be close to negligible. Staying at Spurs for one more year would allow Tottenham to give him a proper send-off, closing a phenomenal run at the club that will cement him as one of Spurs’ all-time greatest players.
Son’s decision would also have an effect on Spurs’ transfer plans, as the club would seek to replace him should he opt to move. Keeping him for one final season would mean Spurs would shift priorities away from players like Antoine Semenyo, Bryan Mbeumo and Eberechi Eze to other positions and areas of need. Notably, Son has also been heavily featured in Tottenham’s off-season content, including the kit reveals and promotions for the summer preseason tour to Asia. If Son were to move, it almost certainly would not be until after that preseason tour, but it’s also likely that his intentions would be made clear by that point anyway. If Spurs go after a wide forward player ahead of the tour, that may be a signifier that Son has made a short term decision about his future.
No matter what, as Tottenham fans our days enjoying Son Heung-Min as a Spurs player are now officially numbered. As a fan I would love to see him stick around for a final season if only so that I can wrap my brain around Tottenham Hotspur without him and prepare myself for a proper farewell. But as I’ve stated numerous times before, Sonny has earned the right to do whatever he wants with what remains of his professional football career. He has yet to report for preseason training, and hopefully whatever decision he makes will be made clear shortly afterwards.