Son will shine without Kane: Neil Humphreys
Humble forward is just what Tottenham and EPL need now
Son Heung-min feels like a lightsaber, an elegant weapon for a more civilised age. He may be the future for Tottenham Hotspur simply because he practically belongs in the past.
When the South Korean put his hand on his heart for the fans after scoring in the 1-0 win against Manchester City yesterday morning (Singapore time), he was making several points.
First, he's not going anywhere. Second, Spurs can rebuild with him and without Harry Kane and third, he's just the kind of humble footballer that we could all use right now.
That last point might seem imagined. But is it though?
He might as well be a palate cleanser, removing the unwanted residue of all that obsessive consumption of late.
Honestly, recent events involving both Tottenham and City are not a cause for celebration. They are morally questionable, at best, and a weary reminder that the game's greediest, tone deaf to current global concerns, have already put Covid-19 to bed and moved on.
In the case of City, they are ready to return to what really matters: International corporate branding via the annexation of English football.
Their eagerness to spend £250 million (S$470.2m) on two players - Jack Grealish and Kane - when the game's kamikaze finances are tiptoeing towards a cliff show a tactlessness expected of a club with unlimited resources.
But Kane hasn't helped himself either. Telling Gary Neville in a pre-Euro 2020 interview that Spurs should accept any £100m-plus offer for his services - despite still being under contract - was ill-judged.
Imagine the hysterical fallout if Paul Pogba had made a similar comment.
Superior footballers leave inferior clubs. It's Darwinism, a natural selection process, as the best evolve into something bigger and hopefully better.
But the timing and manner of such departures say everything. From City and Pep Guardiola to Kane and his disappearing act, there has been a collective failure to read the room. The public's tolerance for petty bargaining over obscene sums of money is limited.
We'd rather just focus on football for a bit.
Son seems to instinctively get that. Such a breath of fresh air in a fetid climate, the forward played his usual, selfless role, leading the line in Nuno Espirito Santo's new 4-3-3 counter-attacking approach.
The experiment was tried in pre-season. Son went in as the central striker with Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn in support. The South Korean scored thrice in fourfriendlies.
And then he scored against City. The counter-attack was swift and decisive, involving both Moura and Bergwijn, the template already established.
Santo's experiment works on three assumptions; that Kane is leaving, that Son will run himself into the ground and that when a rare opportunity comes, he won't miss.
Son's winner was Tottenham's first shot on target and of course, he ran himself into the ground. That's his raison d'etre, playing, as always, as if he can't believe he's getting paid for this lark. He was indefatigable.
He usually is. Last season was his most productive for Spurs, scoring 22 goals and conjuring 17 assists in all competitions. Only three other players - Kane, Bruno Fernandes and Mohamed Salah - have been involved in more EPL goals since February 2020.
Maybe Santo's experiment includes a fourth assumption, that Son can lead the line, regardless of whether Kane leaves and whether or not Spurs decide to replace him.
Perhaps it's insulting to even suggest that Son can suddenly step up. He never stepped down. The 29-year-old reached his peak during the heady days of Mauricio Pochettino and hung on throughout the Jose Mourinho madness.
He's still there, an uplifting, almost necessary presence for Spurs and the game itself.
And he will be there for another few more seasons at least, having signed a four-year contract last month.
That joyful gesture to an adoring crowd only epitomised his humility.
In a sport awash with cynical money-minds, Son just plays from the heart.
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