Is Son Heung-Min the most underrated attacker in the Premier League?
Son Heung-Min was considered as a potential bargain when he was signed by Spurs in 2015 for just £22 million from Bayer Leverkusen. He became the most expensive Asian player in football history by sealing a move to Spurs.
The South Korean caught the eye after impressing in the 2012-13 Bundesliga season where he scored 12 goals in 33 appearances from a wide attacking role. He was later signed by Bayer Leverkusen where he was again outstanding scoring lots of goals and creating loads of chances as well in the German Bundesliga.
The start of his life in North London wasn't the best, with him netting just 4 goals and assisting only once in 28 appearances in his debut season with Spurs. He managed to create just 18 chances and this wasn't anywhere near imposing.
Beginning of something special
However, Son was back on track again last season giving Spurs the much-needed lift in the title race with Chelsea. Son was involved in 20 goals for his team scoring 14 and assisting 6 times. Also, he created a whopping 44 chances in the Premier League i.e. almost 2 chances per 90 minutes.
In a season which saw Spurs lose Harry Kane to injuries, Son was used as the main man up top by Pochettino. He repaid the Argentine manager's faith by winning the Premier League Player of the month twice, in September 2016 and April 2017, respectively.
The 25-year-old attacker is a very prolific figure for Spurs and can play in a variety of positions. His versatility has been an asset for Mauricio Pochettino who has often brought him on from the bench.
Son was exceptional against Liverpool at Wembley last month, where he wreaked havoc upon the Liverpool defence, although he was pretty much unlucky not to score himself.
Son has speed, and is also very good with both his feet which is very much an exceptional thing for a modern-day footballer. The South Korean was also instrumental against Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League game on Wednesday as he netted the winner in fantastic style, and was a complete nuisance for the Dortmund defence.
Asset, indeed
Son has scored 5 times for Spurs this campaign with an average rating of 6.8 per game. He also became the highest scoring Asian player in the Premier League after levelling former Manchester United man Park Ji-Sung on 19 goals.
The South Korean is an exciting player to watch. He is someone who likes to cut inside pretty often and also dribbles his way past the opposition defenders. Spurs are very much a counter-attacking side and Son is certainly dangerous in such situations.
He has brilliant chemistry with Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli, with whom he thrived last season when Kane was out injured.
He presses high up the pitch and the work rate he puts in for the team is highly unappreciated. He was just behind Sadio Mane by one goal who was a part of the Premier League Team of the Season, despite Son playing fewer minutes than Mane.
As seen from the statistics, Son was among the top 40 prolific goal-scorers and creators averaging less than 110 minutes per goal/assist which is better than any of his fellow teammates and especially the top-scorer Harry Kane.
He is a player who possesses an amazing technical quality. Although he isn't much of a physical player, he is someone who is a perfect example of a team player and has been the star for his national team as well.
The South Korean attacker is a very productive player and it is a surprise that he doesn't get the plaudits he deserves. Perhaps, the fact that he is mostly used as a substitute may be the reason why a player of his calibre has gone to be the most underrated attacker in the Premier League.