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Ahead of the next season, the appearance of an ace who will threaten Son Heung-min's position is already foreseen.
The Athletic, a global sports media outlet, said on the 20th (Korea time) 'Thomas Frank era officially began. Tottenham's new manager took charge of his first game against Reading.
Tottenham won 2-0 against Reading (third division) in the first pre-season warm-up match held at 「Select Carrying Stadium" in Reading, England on the 19th. This was Frank's first official friendly match since he took office, and it was actually Frank's debut. Tottenham won the match with goals scored by Will Rankshire and Luka Buschkovic.
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The Athletic paid particular attention to the performance of Mohamed Kudus, who is considered to be a new ace. The Athletic said that `Cudus had a hopeful first appearance' and that `Cudus was involved in both goals and created other opportunities. Tottenham have invested £50m in him for these magical moments, which is why fans are so enthusiastic about him. He put Tottenham into a new dimension.
Kudus is a Ghanaian striker who moved from Ajax to West Ham ahead of the 2023-2024 season. Kudus, who can play both wingers and attacking midfielders, is already playing well with West Ham as the main player. The excellent dribbling, speed, and activity that boast top-notch English Premier League (EPL) skills stand out.
The Qudus, who accumulated 14 goals and 6 assists in 45 games last season, is still showing power in the game, although the offensive point is disappointing with 5 goals and 4 assists in 35 games in the 2024-2025 season. He was also considered a player who would play an ace role in Tottenham, but he also stood out in the first game of this pre-season.
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Meanwhile, Son Heung-min also took part in the game. Son Heung-min, who was excluded from the starting lineup, was put into the stadium as a substitute at the beginning of the second half. However, his performance was not good enough. After 45 minutes of running on the ground, he only had one shot, a pass success rate of 64%, a dribble success rate of 0%, and a cross success rate of 0%.
Son's evaluation was not good either. It's a natural result because it's still pre-season to build up, but the British media's evaluation of Son Heung-min was even colder. Alasdair Gold, a reporter for Football London in England, said, "I've got rust on my body, with a low of five points for Son Heung-min. Several touch misses left him out of tune, and his senses seemed not to have come up yet", he pointed out.
Moreover, coach Frank left a comment about the captain's role that seemed not to nail Son Heung-min. Frank said in a pre-press conference "I haven't made up my case yet," he said, hinting at his intention to remove his previous captain, Son Heung-min, from the captain's post. Even within this game, Christian Romero wore the captain's armband in the first half and Son Heung-min, who was replaced in the second half.
With Son Heung-min sluggish, Tottenham predicted the emergence of a new ace. If new faces are active during the pre-season and the regret for Son Heung-min increases, more attention will be paid to Tottenham and Son's choice this summer.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
