10 things you [probably] didn’t know about Tottenham’s Son Heung-min

Tottenham’s attacking midfielder, Son Heung-min, has been one of the best performers in the Premier League so far this campaign, leaving fans relieved the winger didn’t leave the London outfit during the previous summer transfer window.

The 24-year-old, who has 51 international caps for South Korea, has netted four times in his seven league outings this season – helping cushion the blow of losing Spurs’ star striker Harry Kane to injury.

Son, who arrived at White Hart Lane from Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen back in August 2015, has netted five times and provided two assists in 11 appearances in all competitions for Mauricio Pochettino’s side so far this term.

Despite failing to find the back of the net in his last four Premier League games, where Tottenham have picked up six points from a possible 12 on offer, Son is still an integral part of Spurs’ title bid.

So ahead of Sunday’s crunch derby encounter with north London rivals Arsenal, we here at Shoot! have decided to unravel ten facts that you were probably weren’t aware of about the South Korean international…

1. He may miss two years of action because of military service

The Spurs attacking midfielder is currently enjoying his best spell of form for the Premier League side, yet he may be forced to join the military at any moment.

Son, 24, must start his 21 month’s worth of military service for the South Korean army before he turns 28-years-old, with the law in his home country stating that anyone that does not complete their term without exemption could lead to imprisonment.

Yet, there is hope for Spurs fans, as some of South Korea’s footballers have been exempt on completing the service due to their national team achievements.

Ki Sung-Yeung had to serve only four weeks, due to winning a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, whilst Park Ji-Sung and Lee Youn-pyo were exempt after reaching the semi-final of the 2002 World Cup.

Victory for South Korea in the 2018 Asian Games or the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo could mean little to no time in the military service for Son.

2. Son joined Hamburg’s youth team aged 16 after dropping out of high school

In order to follow his dream of becoming a professional footballer, Son dropped out of Dongbuk High School at the age of just 16, to join Hamburg’s youth academy.

It proved to be a tremendous decision as he went on to spend the next two years in their various youth sides, before making his professional debut in 2010.

Son went on to play over 70 league matches for the club, scoring 20 goals.

3. He wanted to leave Spurs during the summer after just one season

After starting just 13 Premier League matches in his debut season, Son was interested in leaving the club, according to multiple reports and there was interest from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg.

Yet, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino was not ready to give up on the 24-year old and instead convinced him to stay, something that Son has declared he is grateful for in recent interviews, when asked about the possibility of leaving White Hart Lane.

After playing a starring role at his previous two clubs, it was not surprising that he was linked with a move back to Germany during the summer.

4. Signed his first professional contract on his 18th birthday

It was during his first season in professional football at Hamburg that Son signed his first pro contract with the German outfit.

And what a time to receive it. Son signed his first professional deal on his 18th birthday proving that his decision to drop out of high school paid off in the long run.

5. Fourth youngest player to play for South Korea

Son became South Korea’s fourth youngest-ever player to represent his country when he made his debut in December 2010.

At just 18 years and 175 days old against Syria, with only the likes of Kim-Pan Geun, Kim Bong-Soo and Ko Jong-Soo above him in the pecking order.

Not only is he the fourth youngest player to represent his country, but he is their second youngest goalscorer, when he found the back of the net against India in 2011, at the age of 18 years and 194 days.

6. Became Bayer Leverkusen’s club-record signing in 2013

Son left Hamburg to sign for Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen for a reported fee of €10m, which at the time was the highest fee the club had spent on a new player.

The South Korea international signed a five-year deal, of which he completed two years, scoring 21 goals in 62 Bundesliga matches.

During his time at Leverkusen, his goals and assists helped the club clinch a place in the Champions League for the 2014/15 campaign.

7. His Father was a professional footballer as well

His Father, Son Woong-jung, is a retired footballer who has represented South Korea at youth team level.

Woong-jung now runs and manages his own academy in his home country, as he hopes to inspire other young starlets to take up a career in football.

8. His idol is Crystal Palace midfielder Lee Chung-yong

Despite being just one year younger, Son’s idol is none other than Crystal Palace winger Lee Chung-yong.

Son looked up to him during his childhood, after being a ball boy at a game in 2008 for FC Seoul, of which Chung-yong was a youth team player.

FC Seoul was also a former club of Spurs alumni Lee Yong-pyo, who retired from the game in 2013.

9. He has won the KFA footballer of the year twice

Despite being 24-years of age, Son has already won the Korean Footballer of the Year award twice in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Son is seen as South Korea’s finest player of his generation and only lost the award after a difficult first term in English football, as Kim Young-gwon took the crown.

If the Spurs attacking midfielder keeps up his scintillating run of form at the beginning of this season, he may very well regain the award.

10. He is the most expensive Asian footballer in history

When Son signed for Spurs in August 2015, he made history, by becoming the most expensive Asian footballer of all time after putting pen to paper on a five-year contract.

Joining for a reported fee of £22m, which equated to around €30m, he overtook the deal that saw Japanese international Hidetoshi Nakata join Parma from Roma for €28.4m back in 2001.