Son Heung-min s perfect curtain call for Tottenham s career: From a persistent to a legend, how does Tottenham fill the gap?

"Cheers, Son Heung-min cried." However, the people around the Korean star were crying last week.

When Tottenham's friendly match ended in Seoul, his emotions burst out completely, and the Tottenham captain made his debut in Tottenham's jersey for the last time.

Ben Davis burst into tears for his friend's departure. Other teammates couldn't hide their emotions, and even Tottenham's media staff cried on the court, when 33-year-old Son Heung-min was about to start his new journey in Los Angeles FC.

But Son Heung-min is not just the captain and leader of Tottenham. "Son Heung-min is Tottenham, and Tottenham is Son Heung-min," James Madison said before his teammates' farewell game. During his ten years at the club, Son Heung-min has been integrated into the hearts of everyone in Tottenham: players, staff, supporters, and even opponents.

First of all, Son Heung-min, as a player, was one of the greatest foreign players in Premier League history when he left the Premier League. "In my opinion, he is one of the best wingers in Premier League history," Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank said when Son Heung-min announced his departure.

data is sufficient to support this view. If Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne are the two most outstanding players in the Premier League in the past decade, then Son Heung-min has every reason to rank third or fourth.

Son Heung-min's total Premier League career goal contribution (goals + assists) even surpassed De Bruyne, and the two played in the English top league in exactly the same period.

Over the years, Son Heung-min's goals have also been unforgettable. He scored his first goal in the new era in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against Crystal Palace. He finished with a brace against Norwich the season he won the Golden Boot, and home fans stood up and applauded him.

He also scored nine Arsenal goals in the North London derby.

In the European arena, he scored two goals in the opening 10 minutes in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City in April 2019. Harry Kane was absent from injury that night, but Son Heung-min stepped forward and helped Tottenham advance with his away goal advantage.

Son Heung-min's partnership with Kane is another key factor in the modern Tottenham era. The pair reached record highs in North London.

Over the years, the Premier League has witnessed many memorable partners. Hiller and Sutton, Henry and Borgkamp, Silva and Aguero, Drogba and Lampard.

The two teamed up to contribute 47 goals in the Premier League, 11 more than Drogba and Lampard's record. They created 14 scoring opportunities for each other in the 2020/21 season, an achievement that no one in the Premier League can match.

Without Son Heung-min's 32 assists, Kane would not have become the top scorer in Tottenham's history. This proves the importance of the Korean in the Tottenham era and also proves his importance to the star striker.

Kane and Son Heung-min each have some controversy in their respective historical positioning at Tottenham. It is true that Kane is an epoch-making shooter who has led the team to relatively brilliant results. But Son Heung-min will always be remembered as the one who sticks to it. The man who later led the team to win the trophy he longed for - the 24-25 Europa League championship.

In fact, Son Heung-min is the only member of the 2019 Champions League final lineup to remain at the club last season. He is the only one in that team (including Mauricio Pochettino) to bring trophy to the club.

For many years, rumors about Kane's future have been constantly, but Son Heung-min has never asked the Tottenham board to leave the team. He may have every reason to do so, after all, he scored 40 goals in the Premier League in the two seasons around the summer when Kane was chased by Manchester City. But his loyalty to Tottenham has always been loved by club fans.

"The others are very good, very good"

This reminds us of another virtue left by Son Heung-min that makes people talk about - his character.

Son Heung-min has been modest since he entered Tottenham. The winger suffered from homesickness when she first arrived in England. “It’s hard for him to get used to,” Pochettino recalled in 2016.

His close friendship with Davis, Deller Ali and defender Kevin Wimmer helped him through the difficulties, and Pochettino also played an important role.

Son Heung-min's first full season in England was so poor that the Korean asked to leave the team in the summer of 2016.

Pochettino's response was to include Son Heung-min in the 2016/17 season, and Son Heung-min immediately returned the trust. He helped Tottenham get his best season start in 50 years and helped the team finish second in that season.

"My impression of him is not limited to football players, but also as a man," Pochettino added. “He’s a very good guy and his efforts are impressive.” Others in the media world will find this out too.

Every time I was interviewed, Son Heung-min would shake hands with everyone in the room. He always seems to understand the sacrifices people make to meet him. Even when he arrived in Los Angeles, Son Heung-min spent more than an hour signing his autograph.

There is another story. When Son Heung-min first arrived in England, he saw his neighbors holding a family birthday party, so he took the initiative to introduce himself - and then he established a close relationship with his neighbors around him, regardless of their background.

Son Heung-min replaced Kane as Tottenham captain. He became the object of any new player who could talk to him, and he was helpful and helped others to adapt to the new environment. After all, he himself has experienced such struggles.

"The others are good, very good" Pape Saar said in his first season with the team. "Even if I spoke English wrong, he would try to understand and make me feel at ease."

"We have been getting along well since the first day I knew him. We have established a good friendship and he gave me a lot of help and advice on and off the court. I am very grateful to him. He is one of my favorite people on the team."

In Son Heung-min's home country, South Korea, his popularity is unparalleled. The striker's time at the club has allowed Tottenham to enter the East Asian country's market at the commercial level. There, Son Heung-min is regarded as a star.

This can also be seen in England. Not only does the South Korean flag appear in every Tottenham game, but a large number of fans from South Korea line up outside the club's training ground every day to see the style of their idols.

Spurs may have recovered most of the £22 million paid to bring him in 2015, but Son Heung-min has long brought over the expenses. During his ten years at Tottenham, he has left a unique mark on the team.

Especially as the winner of the 17-year championship drought, it was a perfect ending.

How should Tottenham replace Son Heung-min?

Although Son Heung-min's influence as a leader is difficult to replace, how the team fills his vacancy in goal contribution will be a problem that head coach Thomas Frank needs to solve urgently.

Even in his last season with Son Heung-min for Tottenham – his first decline in form – he still contributed 17 goals and assists last season, which no one in Tottenham could match.

There is also a broader background, with James Madison, who was carried off the court by a stretcher in Son Heung-min's Seoul farewell match against Newcastle United, and may miss the early season game. Deyan Kulusevsky, who contributed 15 goals and assists last season, is also recovering after undergoing knee surgery in May.

Tottenham signed Mohamed Kudus from West Ham this summer, but the front line still needs further strengthening.

Frank's interest in No. 10 players was obvious, who had tried to bring in Morgan Gibbs-White, but the offer to buy the player for £60 million failed.

The injuries of Madison and Kulusevsky made the team more urgently need players in this position, but is it necessary to introduce a winger to replace Son Heung-min?

Frank was vague about this when he was in South Korea, suggesting that it is more likely to dig in-house replacements, such as Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odoport or Mattis Terl — the Danish coach admitted during the preseason that Terl was more like a winger than a striker.

Christian Romero will take over as captain, and how Tottenham can replace Son Heung-min in Frank's new era may become the focus of people's discussion.