How Postecoglou will maximise Son's talent as Tottenham's Kane replacement
Son Heung-Min had only managed five shots in his opening three league outings this season ahead of Tottenham's trip to Burnley last weekend. Spurs have made a great start to the campaign under Ange Postecoglou, yet the attack wasn't clicking. That wasn't a surprise when you consider Harry Kane left for Bayern Munich the day before the north London side took on Brentford at the GTech Community Stadium.
And yet after four games, only Manchester City (12) have collected more points than Spurs (10), Postecoglou's side hitting the back of the net the same number of times as the defending champions (11) spearheaded by Norwegian goal machine and last season's Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland. The turnaround in both fortunes and mentality by the Australian is nothing short of outstanding. Spurs were a team that oozed negativity last season. Postecoglou has brought the good times back, albeit with the campaign still in its infancy.
Spurs didn't necessarily replace Kane on the frontline either. Rather they replicated their 2013 summer window exploits to bring in no fewer than seven new players, all the while making Pedro Porro and Dejan Kulusevski's loan moves permanent. The elephant in the room, though, was Kane and his eventual exit. Richarlison was initially given the nod to spearhead the charge, yet despite some promising pre-season performances, the Brazilian struggled.
Richarlison managed just four shots in his opening three draws of the season, and was dropped for last week's trip to Burnley, with Son leading the charge and summer addition Manor Solomon starting from the left. The decision had the desired effect. Spurs smashed Burnley 5-2 at Turf Moor, with their captain taking home the match ball and the player of the match award having bagged a hat-trick at the Clarets.
Son returned a WhoScored rating of 9.61, enough to make the Premier League team of the week, as he doubled his shot count during his 72 minutes on the pitch. Spurs' Kane replacement was right there the entire time. This was the South Korean's best rated performance in a Premier League match since the start of last season, when his form really dipped.
The 31-year-old still managed 10 goals and a further six assists despite a campaign to forget for both player and club, and he explained why following the culmination of 2023/24. "I wondered a lot if I should even make this public, but I struggled with pain all season. I played through it for eight to nine months, but couldn’t go on anymore, so I made the decision finally and underwent surgery."
Son even went on to add that the injury only allowed him to play at 60% of his normal ability. Even at the start of the season, though, Son looked a little out of place, and sorts, coming inside from the left flank. There's no denying he's seemed off the pace from the wing, with the burst of speed to get past a full-back found wanting following injury. Yet as the lead striker, he looked far more comfortable, not only in his ability to score, but in Postecoglou's system.
It's well known that Postecoglou likes his lead striker to do little off the ball, then come alive when the ball is close to the opposition goal, specifically in the box. With injury affecting Son's performances last season, and that seemingly impacting his performance from out wide, it makes far more sense to use the South Korea international through the middle where he can use his energy to manoeuvre into goalscoring positions rather than in seeking to beat a marker.
Against Burnley at the weekend, Son managed 27 touches of the ball, his fourth fewest in a Premier League start since the start of last season. However, he had 10 touches inside the opposition box at Turf Moor, the most he has managed in an English top-flight game since the start of 2022/23. With a direct winger in Solomon helping to stretch the Burnley backline and provide the ammunition for Son - the summer capture provided the assist for two of his captain's three goals - suddenly the Spurs attack looks far more fluid with the Israeli and Kulusevski flanking Saturday's hat-trick hero.
Of course, one game is hardly the perfect sample size to really determine whether Son should lead the charge for Spurs or not, but it was a positive performance from the forward and there's no denying that Postecoglou's attack was far more effective against Burnley than they were in meetings with Brentford, Manchester United and Bournemouth. The real test will come in the next block of games ahead of the October international break, where Spurs take on promoted pair Sheffield United and Luton, two teams who should sit deep to catch Postecoglou's side on the counter, and Arsenal and Liverpool.
As players have aged and injuries have taken their toll, they have redeveloped their game to play to their strengths, and Son, having previously been renowned as a rapid wideman to make those darting runs from the left, looks set to follow suit and change his position from winger to centre forward. It could prove a masterstroke if Spurs are able to maintain their fine start.
