Son Heung-min would be an influential figure off the pitch for Thomas Frank at Tottenham Hotspur.
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Thomas Frank may have only just arrived at Tottenham Hotspur but he may be on the edge of a tenure-defining transfer gaffe should he allow club captain Son Heung-min to leave.
The South Korean international is entering the final 12 months of his contract and reports suggest that the club could look to cash in on the player, who has 127 goals in the Premier League. The forward bagged just seven league goals last season and, at 32 years old, is perhaps past his most prolific years.
TEAMtalk last week reported that Son had held talks with the club over a summer exit with clubs in the Saudi Pro League said to be lining up offers. Turkish outfit Fenerbahce are also linked with a £26 million price tag put on the player.
Son Heung-min ‘in talks’ over Tottenham Hotspur exit
Tottenham Hotspur have already brought in Bayern Munich man Mathys Tel on a permanent transfer and there is growing interest in Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze. Both of those players would likely be above Son in the pecking order, but that does not mean that Spurs should sell the star.
Thomas Frank would be somewhat of a clown to let that happen. His arrival at the club comes under enough controversy given that Ange Postecoglou was sacked at a point when his relationship with fans and players was at an all-time high following the Europa League triumph.
Frank will need Son to help his transition go smoothly. The captain is clearly an influential figure in the dressing room and, given talk of unease from players following Postecoglou’s departure, losing that influence would be a crazy decision.
Thomas Frank should lean on Son influence
Should the new manager endure a bumpy start to life at Tottenham Hotspur, he will want Son’s influence. The winger regularly took some of the pressure off Postecoglou, defending and praising teammates to the media when the going got tough.
James Maddison was labelled as a ‘joy’ to play with by Son after he arrived at the club and, last season, the South Korean underlined Dejan Kulusevski’s ‘work rate’ and Cristian Romero as ‘unbelievable’. He’s a calm presence who knows the right thing to say.
Son isn’t afraid to give hard truths either. Frank may want to be cautious when criticising an already fractured dressing room and having the forward to support him in that would be helpful. In 2024, Son reportedly had a falling out with South Korea teammates who left dinner early to play table tennis and Postecoglou backed his player for doing that.
At the time, in words that Frank should take in before sanctioning a sale, the Aussie said: "It was Sonny being Sonny. When you're a leader, sometimes you get in the firing line. That's what leadership is all about.
"Leadership is not about being popular and trying to make everybody happy, it's about when you see something that you don't feel is right then you stand up for it because it's the best thing for the group. I see that in Sonny."
In other news, Tottenham 'ready' to make offer for £18.7m-rated striker with 28 goal contributions.