Son Heung-min left a parting message for Spurs starlet Yang Min-hyeok, which now feels more important than ever.
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Tottenham Hotspur starlet Yang Min-hyeok is starting to turn heads in the Championship as hype around the 19-year-old builds at an accelerated rate.
Spurs agreed a deal to sign the teenager from South Korean side Gangwon FC in July 2024 but the player only arrived in the UK last December. Yang was immediately shipped out on loan to QPR for the back end of the 2024/25 campaign.
The winger had just won the Young Player of the Year accolade for the K League and was tipped to have the potential to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Son Heung-min. In January, former Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou played down talk about the youngster’s future but did admit that Son’s influence would be a great help.
Yang Min-hyeok impresses on loan at Portsmouth
He said: "He is still very young and has come in from the other side of the world where the level of competition is nowhere near what he is going to face here. We will just give him time to adapt. It helps that Sonny is here and kind of helps him around when he is at the club and outside the club. We are just trying to get him settled early and give him the chance to settle in. No real plan, we will just take it as it goes with him and see how he settles in."
Having now netted goals in back to back Championship games on loan at Portsmouth this season - and in some style too - Yang must keep Son front and centre of his mind. The excitement around the player is growing on social media and, having had to wait for his chance in the starting XI, the feeling is there is more to come.
At such a young age and with just 19 appearances in the UK, Yang must not get carried away. That’s exactly the parting message that Son gave his former Spurs colleague.
Son Heung-min’s parting message to Tottenham Hotspur starlet
Before leaving the club this summer, Son was asked what advice he would leave for Yang. He told Football.London: “I’m very happy to see young players come up and develop in Europe. I’m very proud to see Yang fight for a position in the squad. As for tips, I’d like to see Yang experience things on the field and not think too much or too hard. Just focus on what’s in front of him.”
Thankfully, Yang seems surrounded by Portsmouth coaching staff who are willing to take it steady and nurse his talent. Speaking after the winger scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough, Pompey boss Mousinho told the BBC: “It’s about a number of things. Patience first and foremost, recognising that Min-hyeok has been in the country for less than a year. He’s still learning the language and has been in Portsmouth for eight weeks.
“It’s a baptism of fire in the Championship. He had that expose with QPR but didn’t start three games on the spin. He’s improved in every single one of those games. I thought he was very impressive again today.”
In other news, 'Really impressed me' - Thomas Frank names Tottenham player who is proving him wrong.