Son Heung-min could be set to break another record after an emotional Tottenham send-off.
Son waved goodbye to Tottenham after almost a decade of service in an emotional friendly against Newcastle (3 August), which was filled with bittersweet celebration.
The Spurs captain had announced in a press conference the day before that he would be leaving the North Londoners this summer, with Los Angeles FC pushing for his signature.
With Tottenham’s blessing, Son stayed behind in South Korea as the rest of the squad headed back to London to secure his move, which is expected to be finalised shortly.
Son’s transfer to LAFC could break MLS record
There was a strong feeling that Son might leave for most of the summer, attracting plenty of suitors to explore a deal with the Spurs icon, including clubs from Saudi Arabia.
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However, the 33-year-old seems to be sold on a move to LAFC, where he will reunite with former captain Hugo Lloris.
As reported by the BBC (4 August), the transfer fee is expected to cost the US side around £20million, and could even eclipse the £22.5million that Atlanta United spent to secure Emmanuel Latte in February.
This would see Son make history as the most expensive player ever to be signed by an MLS side, and see Tottenham potentially make a profit on the player they bought in August 2015.
It would also represent the Lilywhites’ biggest sale since Harry Kane joined Bayern Munich just under two years ago.
Tottenham have had poor form in selling players over the last few years, and will hope Son is not the exception this summer as Thomas Frank will look to offload more senior players in the coming weeks.
Frank needs to reinvest in front line
One thing that threatened to dampen the celebrations on Sunday was James Maddison, who looks to have re-injured the same knee that kept him out for the end of last season.
The playmaker was seen leaving the Seoul World Cup Stadium on crutches and will now face another lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The injury list is piling up at Spurs, especially in the front line, and will reinforce Frank and Tottenham’s need to strengthen ahead of next season.
The Lilywhites were already looking to bring in Morgan Gibbs-White before the setback to his international colleague, and will now need to double their efforts to bring in at least one new attacker.