Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino knows his side will need to be at their best to keep ‘one of the best players in the Premier League quiet’ with Heung-Min Son in top form at Tottenham Hotspur.
Pochettino needs no reminding about the empathic finishing ability of a player he brought to English football from Bayer Leverkusen all those years ago.
With eight goals in his first ten games under Ange Postecoglou, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Heung-Min Son exceeds his Premier League-best tally of 23 this season, the South Korean superstar proving that rumours of his demise have been greatly exaggerated while stepping brilliantly into Harry Kane’s boots.
Heung-Min Son starring for Tottenham
“My centre-back needs to stop him. We know him and he’s a fantastic player. One of the best players in the Premier League,” Pochettino tells Football London, the Argentine returning to his old stomping ground as manager of Spurs’ bitter rivals on Monday night.
“Hope it’s not going to be a good night for him.”
Son has certainly enjoyed more ‘good’ nights than bad since Postecoglou took charge. His ravenous return to form is a major reason why Tottenham are in the midst of their best-ever start to a top-flight campaign, ten places and 12 points better off than Pochettino’s inconsistent Chelsea.
“I think so,” Pochettino adds, agreeing with ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger when asked if Tottenham can be considered genuine title contenders.
“They are doing a fanastic job. Ange and the other coaches, they are doing a fantastic job. Very good players, very good team and you can feel they can be a contender. It is early in the season, but they are showing the quality to be a contender.”
In addition to Son, the likes of James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Yves Bissouma and Guglielmo Vicario are playing arguably the best football of their careers under a man threatening to outstrip even Pochettino’s success in North London.
Chelsea boss Pochettino returns to Spurs
“I don’t know (Postecoglou) really well. But I am so happy for him and the club,” the former PSG boss concludes. “They are doing really well. Like you say, we cannot forget all that happened there. It is normal. We are very positive people but at the same time grateful people.
“When people are doing well at the club where you were (before), like I was involved in Southampton and Espanyol also, we keep these links.
“And (we are) happy when the club is doing well.”
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