Son Heung-min was named the Player of the Month in September. He tied for seventh with his fourth career award record.
The PL Secretariat announced the Player of the Month for September on its official channel on the 13th (Korea Standard Time). Earlier, seven candidates were selected. Julian Alvarez (Manchester City), Jerrod Bowen (West Ham United), Pedro Netu (Wolverhampton), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) and Son Heung-min were listed.
The final hero was Son Heung-min. In fact, Son Heung-min had a high chance of winning the award. He scored six goals in September alone, recording the most offensive points among the players nominated as the Player of the Month. In addition, FIFA Nationalos, which deals with the news of the soccer game FC24, said, "Son Heung-min will be the PL player of the month in September."
Tottenham have made a lot of changes this summer. First of all, we have a new head coach. Enze Postecoglou arrived at the official head coach position, which had been vacant since Antonio Conte left. Postecoglou joined Celtic in 2021 after leading the Asian stage in Australia and Japan. And quickly demonstrated leadership. In his first season in office, he won the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish League Cup, achieving a double (two-time winner).
Last season, he also achieved the achievement of "Domestic Treble (three wins in domestic competitions)." They won the league, the league cup, and the FA Cup. Tottenham, which was looking for a head coach, showed interest, and finally took the helm. The contract term is four years.
In addition, two players who have been at the center of Tottenham for a long time have left. Hugo Lloris, who led the team as captain first and played as the main gatekeeper for more than 10 years, has virtually ended his Tottenham life. Although he remains on the team, he has been classified as a non-power target, and is likely to leave in January. Instead, "newcomer" Guglielmo Vicario is playing as the main player.
Harry Kane was the player who wore the captain's armband during the pre-season while Lloris was certain to leave. Kane is an iconic player for Tottenham. Having become a key resource since Mauricio Pochettino's system, he has been responsible for most of the team's scoring for a long time.
However, he moved to Bayern Munich prior to the opening of the season. Kane played an outstanding role last season, scoring 30 league goals, but decided to take on a new challenge as the club's absence continued. Tottenham didn't want to miss Kane, but it wasn't easy to persuade him who already wanted the trophy more than money.
In the meantime, Munich expressed interest. Munich were looking for a clear replacement for Robert Lewandowski. It was at the end of June that Munich began to move in earnest. At the time, Christian Polk, a reporter familiar with the Munich news, said in late June, "The two sides reached an agreement in principle over the transfer this summer. What's left is an agreement between Munich and Tottenham, he said.
Tottenham continued to reject Munich's offer. But Munich didn't give up either, and it finally paid off. Britain's The Athletic said in early August, "Munich has reached an agreement in principle with Tottenham over the transfer of Kane. Munich is estimated to have offered more than 100 million euros (about 142.3 billion won) including bonus options, he noted.
Kane's choice was a transfer. As a result, Son Heung-min and Kane, who were evaluated as the best offensive duo in the PL, were also disbanded. In February last year, they beat Chelsea legend Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba (36 goals) to break the record for most joint PL goals. And he continued his record with 47 goals until last season, but now it is over.
Son Heung-min said on his SNS, "Leader, brother, and legend. It was fun from the first day I was with you. There are so many memories, and we played a lot of games together. And combined for incredible goals. Thank you for everything you've given me, our team, and our fans. I wish you all the best for the new challenge," he said goodbye.
After a while, a new argument was decided. Tottenham said on the club's website ahead of the season's opening, "Son Heung-min has been appointed as the captain of our team. Son Heung-min, who is also the captain of the South Korean national soccer team, is now set to play his ninth season since joining Tottenham, an official announcement said.
At the time, Son Heung-min said on Tottenham's official channel, "I'm really honored to be the captain of this huge team. I've already told all the players that they have to feel the responsibility of being captain anywhere on and off the field. A new season is coming up, and now it's a new beginning. I will give everything for this uniform and captain's armband," he said.
Coach Postecoglou also said, "Son Heung-min has already shown great leadership both inside and outside the stadium. That is why he is a very suitable player as the captain of our team. Everyone knows Son Heung-min is a world class, and he is already respected in the locker room. Son Heung-min mingles with all the groups in the team. It's not just because he's a popular player. Son Heung-min said, "This is because he has achieved a lot as captain of Tottenham and the Korean national team."
Son Heung-min left Leverkusen to join Tottenham in 2015. He showed some sluggish performance in his debut season. He played in 28 league games and scored only four goals, failing to show as much performance as expected. This led to rumors of a return to the German Bundesliga. However, Son Heung-min expressed his willingness to stay at Tottenham and prove himself once again.
The first season was really just a period of adjustment. Son Heung-min quickly became a key player for Tottenham. Starting with 14 goals in 34 PL games in the 2016-17 season, he steadily achieved a league double-digit scoring record until last season.
The highlight was the 2021-22 season. Son Heung-min began to steadily score from the match against Manchester City, the opening game of the league, and at some point, he exceeded the 20-goal mark. And eventually, with Salah, he was the top scorer in the PL with 23 goals. He became the first Asian player to bring a golden boot.
Leaving the glory moments behind, there were some ups and downs last season. Son started the season in a good mood by scoring an assist in the first game of the league. However, he soon fell into silence. The attack point was rarely forthcoming. For this reason, public opinion was formed to exclude the selection. To make matters worse, he suffered an orbital fracture ahead of the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
As the season neared its end, it began to revive little by little. In the end, Son Heung-min scored 10 goals in the PL last season, succeeding in scoring double-digit goals for the seventh consecutive season. It also set a meaningful record. Son Heung-min scored his 100th league goal against Brighton in April. It was the 34th time in PL history, and also the first Asian player
Son Heung-min is now contributing to Tottenham's rise as captain. In particular, before the away game kickoff, he is doing a "huddle" with the players in a circle before the Tottenham fan's cheering section to breathe not only with the players but also with the fans. Local media, which saw this, praised Son Heung-min's leadership and ability to lead the team.
At the same time, he plays as a one-top and is doing his part as a key striker with Kane gone. He did not play at the front line from the opening game. Initially, Hishallisong was placed here. However, with his poor performance, Postecoglou placed Son Heung-min as one-top since the match against Burnley in early September.
Tottenham drew with Brentford in the league opener. Since then, morale has been soaring as he has been riding the winning streak. After reporting his first win over Manchester United in the second round, he defeated both Bournemouth and Burnley.
Especially against Burnley, Son Heung-min's performance was brilliant. Son Heung-min, who was a one-top player from the start of the game for the first time, wrote a hat trick and proved that the choice was not wrong. Tottenham won a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Sheffield United at the end of the second half thanks to consecutive goals from Hishalisson and Dejan Kulusevski after the A match break in September.
This was not the end. Son Heung-min has recently played an important role in scoring against all strong teams such as Arsenal and Liverpool. He scored multiple goals in the North London derby against Arsenal, earning a valuable point. And he scored the first goal against Liverpool to lead his team to a 2-1 victory. It's already six goals in September alone.
Son Heung-min did not score in three league games in August, but quickly scored many goals, ranking second in scoring after Erling Holland (Manchester City, 8 goals). His outstanding performance was also reflected in his ratings, and he was named the best 11 team of September by soccer statistics media "Huscoed Dotcom." Son Heung-min and Holland were on the two-top, and teammate James Medicine was also included.
Thanks to his outstanding performance, he finally won the Player of the Month Award in September. Son Heung-min, who is in his ninth season in the PL, has won the Player of the Month award four times so far. September 2016, April 2017, and October 2020 were the last. This award was a splendid feat in three years.
Son Heung-min is on par with world-class players. It is tied with legends such as Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer and Frank Lampard, as well as players currently considered top in the league, such as Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).
Now, only six players have more award-winning records than Son Heung-min. Former teammate Kane and Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero are the most awarded seven times. Next is Steven Gerrard and Cristiano Ronaldo (more than six times), followed by Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie (more than five times).
Meanwhile, Tottenham is preparing to extend their contract with Son Heung-. The last time Son Heung-min signed a contract was in July 2021. At that time, he signed a four-year contract and the contract is maintained until the summer of 2025. It is now possible to engage in new negotiations in two years.
Britain's Telegraph said in mid-September, "Son Heung-min's current contract will end after the 2024-25 season." Tottenham currently have the option to extend it for at least another year. "The option has not yet been invoked, and although it is unlikely right now, expectations and expectations from both the club and the players are expected to be extended," he reported.
England's "90min" also said, "Tottenham is seeking a new long-term contract with captain Son Heung-min. Now in his ninth season with Tottenham, he has 18 months left on his contract. However, the club is preparing to extend the contract. It is expected that an agreement will be reached by Christmas, but negotiations may be finalized within a few weeks, he said.