It was the news that everyone in the orbit of Tottenham Hotspur had been hanging on all season.
There was never any question of whether or not Spurs would exercise their option to extend Son Heung-min’s contract into next season. The club had always been very clear about their intention to do so. The only unknown was when Spurs would take that step, usually delivered in the form of an official letter. And confirmation finally came at 10am on Tuesday.
While other clubs have always been interested in signing Son, he has effectively never been in the last year of his deal as Spurs decided long ago to take the option, meaning he was never going to be available on free transfer in 2025.
The idea of letting him walk away now never made sense. Had Tottenham not taken the option, then Son could have left as a free agent at the end of this season, ending his 10-year association with the club. Spurs would have then had to spend the summer struggling to replace him, not just for his goals, his leadership, his experience but also his global stardom and recognition. At least now that difficult moment has been pushed further into the future.
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For many of Son’s biggest fans at home in Korea, there is relief that his immediate future has now been clarified, with maybe a tinge of frustration that it has taken so long.
“After going back and forth, a one-year extension is finally reached,” was the headline of a story in the Seoul daily paper The JoongAng. “Finally, Tottenham announces a one-year option contract for Son Heung-min,” the headline of a story in Sports Chosun. While many of Son’s biggest fans in Korea wanted this situation resolved sooner, the reality is that the ball was always in Spurs’ court, and there was never any pressure to do anything until now.
But all of this just feels like the precursor to a bigger series of questions. Will next season be Son’s last at Spurs? Will there be another contract beyond this one? And how will Tottenham eventually manage the departure of one of their most important players of the modern era?
This is because it is an unavoidable fact that this has not been a classic season for Son on the pitch. He has been consistent in his availability for Spurs: only five players have played more league minutes than the captain, all of them much younger than Son. But in terms of output, he has not been at his best. More than halfway through the campaign, Son has five Premier League goals and six assists. Not disastrous numbers, but not good by his standards either.
Last season felt like a real return to form from Son after a poor 2022-23. The end of Antonio Conte’s tenure was not a happy time for Son, as he tried to play through a painful hernia problem that eventually required surgery after that season was over. The arrival of Ange Postecoglou seemed to revitalise Son and last season he looked better again. Even though he had to play most of that season up front, rather than on the left, because of the lack of alternative No 9s in the Spurs squad.
This season Son’s league output has slightly dropped. On key goalscoring metrics — xG per 90, non-penalty xG per 90, goals per 90 — this season has been closer to 2022-23 for Son than to last season, although he has done better in terms of assists. He has gone from consistently overperforming his xG to finishing at about par. There have been times this season when Son has started to look his age, and you remember that as a 32-year-old who has been so reliant on his supreme athleticism, he will not always be able to summon that explosiveness at will.
It also feels that Son — like a few other Spurs forwards — has had to play more football than would be ideal because of the lack of rotation options. Spurs have lost almost their entire backup front line to injury recently. Wilson Odobert started two league games but was struck down by hamstring injuries and has not played since. Richarlison has not even started in the league yet. Mikey Moore drifted into contention but then suffered an unfortunate illness. Timo Werner has not contributed reliably. And so Son, Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski have lined up in attack in almost every game when fit.
Maybe next season, when Spurs have a stronger and deeper squad again, the physical demands on Son will be less. And perhaps if he played less he would be able to deliver more. Tottenham should not be quite as reliant on Son as they have been this season.
Remember too that next season will also be overshadowed by the 2026 World Cup. South Korea are in a very strong position to qualify and can get close to that goal with two more good results in March. Next year’s tournament would be Son’s fourth with South Korea, and probably his last.
But over the course of next season Spurs and Son will have to think about what comes after the World Cup. Spurs will want to explore the possibility of Son signing a new long-term deal, into the 2026-27 season or possibly beyond that. Given how important Son is to the whole football club, it feels unlikely that there will ever be a time at which Tottenham do not want Son to be in the building.
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Son will turn 34 during that World Cup and it remains to be seen what he will want to do in the final phase of his career. It is almost impossible to see him playing for a rival club in England, or maybe even in Europe, but given his unique fame and appeal, he would have offers from every league in the world if he were to be a free agent 18 months from now.
So perhaps this is the start of the final phase of Son, the last season and a half when he will certainly be tied to Spurs. When he does eventually leave, he will do so as one of Tottenham’s most significant and most loved players of this or any era. But he deserves for that to be acknowledged while he is still at the club.
(Top photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)