Tottenham Hotspur are currently enduring their first season without either Son Heung-min or Harry Kane since 2010-11, with times changing at the North London outfit.
Son Heung-min joined Tottenham in August 2015 from Bayer Leverkusen, and although he was a star in the Bundesliga, nobody could have predicted how well his Tottenham career panned out.
Son rounded off his Spurs career with a Europa League trophy, Tottenham’s first major honour since 2008, when the Lilywhites beat Manchester United in the final back in May.
But with his contract expiring in the summer, the 136-time South Korea cap decided on a move to Los Angeles FC, and former Spurs star Robbie Keane believes that it’s no surprise that he is thriving on the west coast of the USA.
Robbie Keane lauds Son Heung-min’s ‘unbelievable character’
Keane is a Tottenham icon in his own right, and he ventured on a similar career path to Son by leaving White Hart Lane for Los Angeles, albeit at LAFC’s rivals LA Galaxy.
He knows exactly what it takes to move from North London to the MLS, having scored 83 league goals in just 125 appearances in California.
And with Son already proving to be an outstanding capture for LAFC with eight goals in nine MLS games, Keane has praised him for being the ‘most professional guy ever’, citing his hard work in training as the reason he’s doing so well.
Speaking to the MLS’ official YouTube channel, Keane said:
“I’m not surprised with Son [doing well at LAFC], because I know him personally, I know him, he’s an unbelievable character.
“He’s full of energy. Giroud is a different player, he needs a lot of energy around him.
“At LAFC, they will see Son come in every morning, he’s the most professional guy ever, he trains the hardest, he works the hardest, how can you not learn from him?”
Even at the age of 33, the former Hamburg attacker has taken to the league with ease, scoring seven goals in his last five games.
Son Heung-min consistency means he could become a club legend at Tottenham and LAFC
Son is looking likely to garner double figures for LAFC in the league already, and it’s a testament to his character that in the past 13 seasons of his career, the one-time Premier League top scorer only failed to hit ten or more league goals twice.
The first one came in his debut Premier League campaign, where he notched four as Tottenham came third in the table.
His most recent failure was last season, where he still hit a respectable seven under Ange Postecoglou.
The Chuncheon-born star has gone down in history with 173 goals for Tottenham, sitting in fifth-place in their all-time table – behind only Harry Kane, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Smith and Martin Chivers.
It’s shows his incredible longevity, and with elite players sometimes continuing into their MLS careers until their late thirties, there is a chance he could become a club legend at two different teams.