"Frightening how good he is" - Callum Wilson and Michail Antonio name their Premier League player of the season
West Ham star Michail Antonio and Newcastle's Callum Wilson have named Tottenham Hotspur ace Son Heung-min as their 'player of the season' for the 2021/22 Premier League.
The South Korea international had a terrific campaign on a personal level, scoring 23 goals and providing nine assists to help Spurs finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League.
Son had his best season in terms of goals scored with the London outfit. He also won the Premier League Golden Boot with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.
The 29-year-old became the first Asian in history to finish as the Premier League top-scorer.
Son Heung-min is the first Asian player in Premier League history to win the Golden Boot and he didn’t need to score a single penalty to do it.
Nice one, Sonny. 🇰🇷 https://t.co/u66is1xBlm
Wilson and Antonio heaped praise on Son, picking him as their player of the season. Speaking on The Footballer's Footballer Podcast, Wilson said (via The Boot Room):
“It’s probably been Son at Tottenham for me. He’s ended up on 22, 23 goals and didn’t score a penalty within that. And a lot of goals were left foot, great finishes. He was playing in a team that struggled at first and then picked themselves up, they changed their manager.
“I just feel they’re not in that Liverpool, City title race but he’s still had an outstanding season and I just feel for me he was Player of the Season.”
Antonio echoed his sentiments, adding:
“I agree with him to be fair. I’ve been saying this for the last couple of the years that Son is the best player in the Premier League. If he was at one of the top two teams I couldn’t even tell how many goals he’d probably get.
“He’s done it for the last two or three years, and I played against him and the things that he’s done in games, like running past four or five men and finishing. It’s actually frightening how good he is.”
Premier League star received a hero's welcome in South Korea
Son recently returned to his home country of South Korea and received a hero's welcome at the airport. The 29-year-old also held aloft his Golden Boot and posed for photographs before waving to his fans.
Here's the video:
Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min received a warm welcome from fans as he returned home to South Korea with the Golden Boot award https://t.co/xN2P15jQgo
South Korean president Yoon Seok-youl called his achievement a 'joyous occasion' for the "entire Asian football community."