Son Heung-min ‘wanted to leave’ Spurs – Pochettino

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that winger Son Heung-min was open to a move away from White Hart Lane this summer.

The South Korean winger put in a good performance in Spurs’ 1-0 win over Sunderland, subsequently being named Man of the Match, and Pochettino revealed after the game that Son wanted a move back to Germany.

“He came to see me and said he needed my help, and I said: OK, always my door is open. He is a quiet person, a nice person.

“After the Olympic Games his idea was to leave to go to Germany. In his mind, he would like to move but in the end he accepted the decision to stay and fight for his position.

“The truth is on the pitch. I say this to all my players. If you deserve to play, you will play. It’s not about names it’s about performances. I am happy for him. His performance was fantastic. That’s why we waited for him.”

The 24-year-old former Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburg man also recorded a brace at Stoke, taking his tally to 10 competitive goals for Spurs.

Thierry Henry was also quick to praise Son, and believes that the forward has done enough to show Pochettino why he should be starting every game for Spurs.

“He was incredible today,” said Henry. “He put a couple of great crosses into the box and he should have had an assist if people went to meet his ball.

“He did not also score, but other than that I thought he destroyed Jason Denayer on the side, or whoever was in his zone.

“I mean you [Niall Quinn] would have liked to have been on the end of some of his crosses there.”