When the topic turns to great players of the last decade or so at Tottenham Hotspur, the mind might immediately settle on a certain Harry Kane, yet the impact of his former colleague, Heung-min Son, can’t be overlooked.
Indeed, it is arguably the South Korean star who enjoys the greater legendary status at N17, not least having played his part in the club’s Europa League success last term, in what proved to be his final campaign at the club.
Even with his powers perhaps on the wane, the ageing winger still ended 2024/25 with 17 goals and assists to his name in the Premier League, a record that would still place him above every Spurs player this season in the division.
At a time when new boss Roberto De Zerbi is crying out for a spark, someone to steer this side away from danger, Son would likely have been a perfect solution.
Alas, with six games left of the season, the Italian needs to find a new attacking figurehead in north London.
How Spurs’ forwards have performed in the Premier League this season
As noted above, no one in Lilywhite has come close to Son’s tally of seven goals and ten assists from 2024/25 in the top-flight, with Richarlison the only player in the squad to have even reached double figures for goal involvements.
The next Paul Gascoigne could finally end Simons’ Spurs career
Spurs may already have the perfect replacement for Xavi Simons.
The man who scored Spurs’ most recent goal away at Anfield, the Brazilian has 12 goals and assists thus far, albeit while having scored just 25 times in the league since his arrival back in the summer of 2022.
The ex-Everton marksman did start on Sunday away at the Stadium of Light alongside Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani, the pair having endured their own miserable seasons in the capital.
In Solanke’s case, the Englishman has scored only three league goals in 2025/26, two of which came in that creditable comeback at home to Manchester City under Thomas Frank, with injury woes having largely been the tale of his season.
As for Kolo Muani, the Frenchman’s solitary league goal came against Arsenal in the North London derby defeat under Igor Tudor, with even De Zerbi admitting prior to the trip to Sunderland that the on-loan striker hasn’t had a good year by his standards.
|
Spurs forwards – PL 25/26 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Games |
Goals (Assists) |
|
Richarlison |
27 |
9 (3) |
|
Tel |
25 |
3 (0) |
|
Solanke |
13 |
3 (0) |
|
Kudus |
19 |
2 (6) |
|
Johnson* |
16 |
2 (0) |
|
Kolo Muani |
24 |
1 (1) |
|
Simons |
26 |
1 (4) |
|
Odobert |
24 |
0 (2) |
|
*Sold in January |
||
Mohammed Kudus, meanwhile, is set to miss the remainder of the campaign following a frustrating injury setback, while Xavi Simons was again overlooked from the start on Wearside, having scored only one league goal himself since his £52m arrival from RB Leipzig.
Options then are thin on the ground, although could one solution lie in Tottenham’s new Son in the making?
The new Son could be the man to fire Spurs to safety
Few could have expected the remarkable, decade-long journey that Son would enjoy in a Spurs shirt, having arrived from the Bundesliga as a relatively unknown prospect back in the summer of 2015.
Just 23 at the time, it’s worth remembering that he did endure something of a muted beginning at Premier League level, registering only five goals and assists in that debut 2015/16 campaign.
The rest, as they say, is history, with the 173-goal hero providing reason for patience with regard to another of Spurs’ Bundesliga imports, in the form of Mathys Tel.
Still only 20, the ex-Bayern Munich starlet hasn’t quite exploded as was expected following his initial loan arrival back in January 2025, scoring just six times in 52 games in all competitions.
That includes a tally of just three goals so far this season, all of which have come in league action, having started on the bench last time out following a brief injury concern over the international break.
It hasn’t quite happened as yet in north London, although like Son – who scored 20 in 78 for Hamburg, and 29 in 87 for Bayer Leverkusen – the youngster has previously showcased his talent in Germany, registering 16 goals in 83 games at Bayern.
In 2023/24, for instance, he scored seven times in the Bundesliga from just 1023 minutes, having actually started only 16 games in total for the Bavarian giants.
A more consistent run of games is needed, with the France U21 international mirroring Son as a natural left-winger who can also sparkle through the centre.
Equally, he also made his mark briefly off the right in the win over Atletico Madrid last month, teeing up Kolo Muani with a delicate dink into the penalty area.
It is that kind of quality which should see Tel emerge as a potential star in De Zerbi’s ranks, with the new boss evidently a fan, having admitted he tried to sign the one-time Rennes forward during his time in charge at Marseille.
With Richarlison and co squandering a handful of chances at the weekend, that left-wing berth should now be Tel’s to lose, giving him the chance to truly become the successor to Son on that flank.
Someone needs to spark this attack in life, why can’t it be the 20-year-old?
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