According to The Athletic, there was one specific asset belonging to Heung-min Son which attracted Mauricio Pochettino.
The Argentine, who has since been replaced by Jose Mourinho, is said to have ‘liked’ the South Korean’s running off the ball when analysing the forward before signing him.
This was while Son was at Bayer Leverkusen, where he netted 29 goals in 87 games.
David Webb, who was part of Tottenham’s recruitment staff at the time, told The Athletic: ‘He was a Mauricio-type player and what stood out was that at Leverkusen he played as a false nine, wide coming in, and his best asset which Mauricio liked was his running off the ball.’
Pochettino later spent £22 million of his transfer budget on the energetic attacker, who has arguably become one of the greatest players in Tottenham’s recent history.
Son has racked up 243 appearances in total for the north Londoners, scoring an impressive 96 goals while also setting up a further 52.
It’s no wonder that Pochettino was impressed with the 28-year-old’s running off the ball – it feels as if he never stops moving.
Son has nine goals in nine Premier League games this season – you don’t score that many goals so quickly without having exquisite movement.
Just watching his goal in the recent 2-0 win over Manchester City tells you everything you need to know.
With the Citizens half-asleep after a quickly-taken freekick, Tottenham’s No.7 surged in behind the defence before slotting home in a flash.
For all the good things Pochettino did, signing Son is undoubtedly near the top of the list.
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