Son Heung-min has been left surprised and disappointed at Tottenham's decision to trigger a contract extension.
The Spurs star is set to see his contract expire at the end of the season but the Lilywhites plan to action a one-year option to extend the deal of their club captain. The 32-year-old is in the final year of his current deal and seemingly open to prolonging his stay in north London but had expected to hold talks over a new long-term agreement according to reports.
Son, who has scored 123 goals in 311 Premier League games, is the only survivor from the Tottenham lineup that started in the 2019 Champions League final under Mauricio Pochettino. The South Korea international has remained a talismanic figure for the club, even more so following Harry Kane's departure to Bayern Munich in 2023.
Son admitted in September that discussions over his future had yet to take place with the club. "We haven't talked about anything yet. It is very clear from me," he said. "I am very focused on this season. At this age, every second is like a goal, especially this season, we are in a lot of competitions, it feels like I am taking even more care about this. As I say, I am fully focused on this year and just want to win something that everybody at the club - the players, all around - deserves.
"That's what I'm working for. In the future you never know what will happen, but I will give everything for this club because it's been almost 10 years and I give everything.
"I still have a contract with the club which is the very important thing and I just want to give everything until my contract [expires]."
Now, TalkSPORT report that Spurs have held off on negotiations with Son over a long-term deal, to the player's surprise. Instead, they are moving to simply trigger his clause and add 12 months onto his current contract.
If Son stays with the club until the end of the extension, he will have served 11 years in north London. Former Spurs midfielder Jamie O'Hara believes Son's time at the club is coming to an end however.
“The quality in the final third (has gone)," he said. "He is 32, is he going to go past people? Listen, he has been a great player and an unbelievable player. A Tottenham great.
“But I just feel like when I am watching him now, have you got that sharpness and edge to your game? I don’t think he has. He has gone clean through there one-v-one. The old Sonny, that’s a guaranteed goal. You can’t take him out of the team because there isn’t anyone better than him, but we have to start looking at a new left-winger.”