Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min tipped for English Premier League Player of the Season
- Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Peter Crouch backs South Korean forward to win individual award in ‘strange season’
- Spurs star has 12 goals in 21 league appearances this campaign but has not scored in last five games
Former Spurs and England striker Peter Crouch wrote that in his Mail Online column last weekend, in comments that were picked up by Fifa among their “quotes of the week”.
“It‘s been such a strange season that no one player has dominated the rest. Jack Grealish has claims and Harry Kane was in a fine position before Christmas, but how long is he going to be out injured?” Crouch asked, referring to Son’s injured strike partner Harry Kane.
“At this stage, my vote would be for Son Heung-min. I absolutely love him and think he’s improved again this season. In terms of Young Player of the Year, I can’t see past Phil Foden.”
Crouch wrote before Spurs lost 1-0 to Chelsea in midweek, where the South Korea skipper missed a late chance to equalise for Jose Mourinho’s side.
That miss saw him criticised, with former English Premier League striker Noel Whelan among those to point to the attacking burden being on Son wihout the injured Kane.
“Going forward, they looked poor, they looked weak. Heung-min Son looked alone, he looked out of his depth, he looked lost out there last night,” Whelan told Football Insider after the defeat to their London rivals, which came in the absence of England skipper Kane.
Whelan has referred to Son as an “unsung hero” earlier in the season.
“He’s one player that always brings that consistency to Tottenham with his level of performances, not only assists but goals as well – he’s one of their star players at the club,” Whelan told Football Insider last October.
“He’s got everything you would want from a wide man – energy, tricks, skill, vision, weight of pass, a threat in the box, he can do things by himself. He’s kind of a little bit unsung there, an unsung hero.”
Crouch has long been a fan of Son, tipping him to improve ahead of last season.
“I want to stress the importance of Son Heung-Min. He is a top player, one of the best forwards in Europe and I think he will be even better again this season,” Crouch wrote in the Daily Mail in August, 2019.
Crouch was proved right. Son finished the season with 18 goals across all competitions despite an injury and suspension keeping him out of the side for 11 games.
Son was also named the Spurs player of the season and won the London Football Awards before being awarded several more individual gongs including the Fifa Puskas Award for the best goal of the year.
The 28-year-old has proved a hit since moving to England from German side Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, passing the 100 goals mark for Spurs last month.
Son will look to find his scoring touch when Spurs take on West Brom on Sunday. The forward has 12 goals in 21 league games this season but has not scored in five games since they beat Leeds United on January 2.
