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| Son Heung-min composite photo. Source = One Football |
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'I'm tired of waiting. We're gonna be out
Tottenham Hotspur Chairman Daniel Levy's desire for business eventually made 'big-handed customers' wear out. Saudi Arabian clubs, which were once active in recruiting Son Heung-min (33), changed their position and drew attention to Son Heung-min.
Following Turkiye Fenerbahce, Saudi Arabian club gave up Son Heung-min, and now the only option left is the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) LA FC. This means that even if Tottenham transfers Son Heung-min, it is difficult to expect a very large transfer fee profit.
The Guardian, a British media outlet, plans to send a detailed proposal to Tottenham to recruit Son Heung-min on the 26th (Korea time). Son Heung-min has to make a big decision, and the Saudi Arabian clubs, which were mentioned as Son Heung-min's transfer, have stopped paying attention, he said.
Son Heung-min, who has been playing at Tottenham for 10 years since 2015, is at a critical turning point in his career.
Son has scored 173 goals in 454 games for Tottenham. In addition, he was honored with the joint top scorer (23 goals) in the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2021-2022 season and the FIFA Pushkashi Award in 2020. Both the EPL's top scorer and the Pushkashi Award are the first and only milestone for an Asian player to date.
In particular, he made his name in the club's history as Tottenham captain, who led the team to victory in the UEFA Europa League in 2024-2025 and lifted the trophy for the first time in 17 years since Redley King in 2008.
However, Tottenham is preparing to say goodbye to Son Heung-min. In January, he triggered a one-year extension option instead of renewing his contract, and he is seeking to move in the transfer market this summer after buying time until June 2026.
At the beginning of the transfer market, various clubs' interest in Son Heung-min was on fire. The so-called Munich, with its 'best friend' Harry Kane, was also one of the clubs of interest. However, it was Turkiye Fenerbahce, with professional Saudi Arabian clubs and Jose Mourinho, who maintained active interest over time.
In particular, the Saudi Arabian League's interest was quite specific. It is an interest that has been going on for two years already. RT Hard once called a transfer fee of 55 million pounds (about 102.3 billion won) to take Son Heung-min in the summer of 2023. At that time, Son Heung-min expressed his intention to reject the transfer, leaving a quote that "(Korea's captain does not go to Saudi Arabia)."
This time, three clubs rushed in. British talk sports want Son Heung-min from three clubs: Al Ahli, Al Nasr and Al Kadishya. In particular, Al Ahli is strongly seeking to recruit a left-sided striker' and is setting a 40 million euro transfer fee for Son Heung-min.
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Tottenham, however, were ambivalent about this interest. Despite the possibility of a transfer, he did not actively engage in negotiations. This was due to chairman Levi's desire to use Son Heung-min to earn the club's profits until the end. Specifically, it was to put Son Heung-min as a 'face madam' on Tottenham's Asian tour scheduled for the end of July.
In response, the British Telegraph reported on the 22nd that the biggest reason Son Heung-min's transfer in the summer transfer market is not becoming a reality is because of the Key Player Clause.
Then 'Son Heung-min's participation directly affects the tour's profits. If Son Heung-min is excluded from the Seoul tour list, Tottenham's game allowance will be cut by 75%. Even if Son Heung-min accompanies him on the tour, his participation allowance will be reduced to 50% if he does not actually play.
Tottenham will start its Asian tour on July 31. After playing Arsenal's first North London derby outside the UK in Hong Kong, they will move to Seoul and play Newcastle on August 3. In the end, chairman Levi postponed Son Heung-min's transfer negotiations after this period due to his intention to make the most of the profits on the Asian tour. The calculation is that even if the transfer negotiation table is held in August, Son will be able to sell enough.
While Chairman Levi showed his utmost business greed, the buyers who had been waiting fell one after another. Fenerbahce was the first to raise his hand, and now three Saudi Arabian clubs have turned to 'withdrawal of the recruitment plan'.
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LA FC is actually the only one left. As a result, it is likely to be a 'self-delusion' for Chairman Levi. The transfer fee income is bound to decrease.
In fact, British media recently said Tottenham is thinking of at least 15 million pounds (about 27.9 billion won) to 20 million pounds (about 37.2 billion won) for Son Heung-min's transfer fee. LA FC can handle it enough, he said.
The amount is nearly 30 billion won lower than the 40 million euros offered by Saudi Arabian clubs. Chairman Levi once wanted up to 100 million pounds (about 186 billion won) for Son Heung-min's transfer fee. Tottenham Hotspur News reported on June 24 that former Tottenham scout Brian King's claim that the Tottenham club will demand £100 million for Son Heung-min's transfer fee.
However, chairman Levi's greed is so greedy that the expected transfer fee revenue is expected to decrease by almost 80%. Finally, if the remaining negotiations with LA FC break down, they may not even receive it. In any case, Son Heung-min's saying, "(Korea's captain does not go to Saudi Arabia)" is expected to continue.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
