FAVOURITE SON
Pochettino hails his humble but brilliant Korean Heung-min, so often left in the shadow of goalscoring sensation Kane
MAURICIO POCHETTINO claims Son Heung-min would be rated a superstar if he didn’t have to operate in Harry Kane’s shadow.
The Spurs boss believes Kane’s brilliance steals the spotlight from the South Korean in the same way Barcelona and Real Madrid players are merely the chorus line behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Son has scored five goals in his last seven games and nine in all this season.
Asia’s most expensive player enjoys David Beckham status in his homeland and no player from that continent has ever netted more goals in the Premier League.
But in a Tottenham team containing scoring machine Kane, Son is regarded as a superstar only by the manager and his team-mates.
“All the team love him,” said Pochettino. “Not only because of his performances but because of how he is as a man.
“When we talk about Beckham, we talk about a massive icon in the world. Maybe Son is like this but here he is so humble and such a normal guy, and that makes him bigger.
“And we, the coaching staff, give him the credit he deserves.
“It’s like a player alongside Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo who deserves a lot of credit but doesn’t get it.
“When you are next to Harry Kane, who scores and scores, it is normal that the focus is more on him than on Son.
“I think he is so important for us. It is true that maybe he doesn’t get the headlines Harry gets but it is good to recognise him.
“He is a great guy and a very good He is always there and he scores a lot of goals.”
Son, who suffered a difficult first season after joining Spurs for £22million from Bayer Leverkusen late in the August 2015 transfer window, overtook the former Manchester United star Park Jiprofesional. Sung’s record of Premier League goals in November and his tally now stands at 24.
And his versatility means he can play out wide or down the middle when Kane is rested.
“I am happy with people like Sonny, who is not a specialist,” Pochettino (left, with Son) added.
“He is not a striker but he can play like a striker. He is not a winger but can play on the wing.
“He is not a No.10 but he can play there. That is the good thing in the squad.”
Tottenham begin 2018 tonight at Swansea in contention only for
All the team love him, not only because of his performances but because he is a humble, normal guy and that makes him much bigger
the Champions League and the FA Cup.
But Pochettino, who moved to Spurs from Southampton in May 2014, claimed the move back to White Hart Lane next season will be the launchpad for a genuine title bid.
“First of all we need to move to the new stadium,” he said.
“That is so important for the team, for the club, for the fans, for everyone.
“The moment you are in the new stadium, you start to feel that it is your home and you become much stronger.
“That will change the atmosphere around the club. That is the moment we become real contenders.
“Yes we are contenders now and we have been for the last two seasons, but with a return to White Hart Lane and a solid structure behind us I’d say we become real contenders.”