Pochettino praises Son; talks about summer rumors surrounding Korean International

It took Heung-Min Son some time to get back into the swing of things at Tottenham Hotspur when he returned from the Olympics. Making things harder on the Korean International were transfer rumors that linked him in a move away from the club and back to the Bundesliga, with the most believable link putting him at VfL Wolfsburg. The conflicting information of rumors and the timing of comments made us believe that most of the rumors were either wild speculation or straight out of bat country.

Turns out that those rumors were there for a reason: Son actually wanted to go back to Germany.

In an article by the Enfield Independent, Mauricio Pochettino praised Son for his contributions after a rather murky summer of rumors. The Argentine boss then went on to talk about those rumors and what exactly was going on.

"For him it has been tough because last season was tough, he came to me in the summer and said ‘Gaffer, I need your help’.

""When he came back from the Olympics his idea was to leave, to go to Germany. But it is the club’s decision. In his mind he wants to move, but in the end he stays and fights for his place.

Pochettino occasionally likes to give outsiders an idea of what’s going on behind the scenes, so long as the timing is right and the subject is a proper one. It would have been perplexing for Spurs to sell an attacking player who cost them £22m just a season ago.

The praise came a bit later in the interview, and shows you that while Pochettino can be tough and direct about his players, he is quick to praise when it’s earned by the player.

"He is a very quiet person, very nice, but you need to fight for your place, he understands that. On the training ground, it is not about names, it is about performances, and he has impressed me.

"I’m happy for him, his first season was very tough, but today his performance was fantastic."

Personally, I’m very happy that he’s opted to stay and he seems to be thriving after the decision. He’s a creative attacker who can either provide a spark off the bench of give you a spell in the Starting XI. His first season was very difficult to gauge just because he was adjusting to life in London and learning an entirely new league.

Son’s brace against Stoke and his celebrations after with his teammates, especially his dabbing with Dele Alli, shows a player that may have put the problems behind him. He followed it up with a great performance against Sunderland.

Spurs are going to need everyone in attack to now pick up the slack as we all wait to hear the status of Harry Kane’s ankle injury, but the belief is that he’s going to miss an extended period of time. Son is a player that can step up and play on either wing and even as a secondary striker if asked, though we all expect Vincent Janssen to be the man up top during Kane’s injury.

Regardless of where he slots into the squad each week, expect to see more of Son making appearances, especially if we get more performances like he’s put out in the last two matches in the Premier League.