Son Heung-min will enter his 11th season with Tottenham after signing a contract extension with the club, but you have to wonder if time is finally catching up with the long-serving forward.
No Tottenham fan wants to see the South Korean star leave the club after a decade of stellar service that has seen him become the fourth-highest goalscorer in the club's history with 169 strikes, making 431 appearances along the way.
But he will be 34 by the time his next deal finishes at the end of 2026 and there has already been signs this season that he is starting to slow down.
Son has become famed for his electric pace and whirlwind runs down the wing in his time at Spurs, but that has faded in the last two seasons and it's hurt his performances.
He's produced no goals or assists in his last four league games, with his five Premier League goals spread sporadically across the season - at a time when this struggling Spurs side desperately need him to step up. He's become renowned for his goal involvements, with 54 in the top flight since the 2022-23 season, but in this campaign he has not been the same talismanic presence for Tottenham.
Son was brilliant in the 5-0 win over a poor Southampton side on December 15 but in the five games before that his only involvements were a consolation strike in the 4-3 loss at home to Chelsea and a solitary assist in the 4-0 win at Manchester City.
There can be no doubt over the commercial significance of Son's presence at Spurs. Since his arrival from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, hordes of South Korean fans have flocked to north London to catch a glimpse of the forward, who is a huge superstar in his home country. Fast forward to present day and the sea of Korean fans has increased, with many of them rushing to the club's superstore to buy shirts and merchandise.
A recent report by The Times claimed that even when Harry Kane was at the club, fans bought more Son shirts than the England forward, selling around 700 per matchday. Since his departure to Bayern Munich last season, that figure is believed to have increased to nearly 1,000.
Son is a crucial component of Tottenham's commercial deals after becoming a brand ambassador for their shirt sponsor AIA - with his face featured prominently in their advertising campaigns across Asia.
So it's no surprise that Tottenham have decided to keep him at the club even when he's not performing. It goes without saying that his experience and leadership is an invaluable asset to Ange Postecoglou's side as the club captain and his infectious personality and popularity in the dressing room will always be a plus.
But the club already look to be making contingency plans and looking to life after Son after signing 18-year-old Yang Min-hyeok from Gangwon FC after emerging as South Korea's next big talent.
Tottenham will be desperate for Yang to follow in Son's footsteps and bring in a similar commercial pull from the Asian market, but he still has a long way to go before establishing himself in the team.
It's clear that Son, however, is thinking about the end of his career after acknowledging that he doesn't have long left at the top level earlier this season.
Speaking in October, he said: "I’m 32, sadly, so for me every single game is one that I want to take really seriously, because every game that passes, I know it’s never going to come back. So every single game I want to take seriously and treat it like it’s the last game of my career."
Son certainly hasn't been playing like every game is the last game of his career but with the club in turmoil after an injury crisis and a woeful run of one win in eight games, retaining a player of his quality on board is not a bad outcome by any means.