Tottenham attacker tipped to emulate Man Utd ‘legend’

Rob McCarthy

Tottenham star Son Heung-min has been tipped to emulate South Korean legend Park Ji-sung after catching the eye of Phil Neville.

Son came through Hamburg’s academy before making a name for himself at Bayer Leverkusen and then joining Spurs for £22million in 2015.

He has since gone on to become a pivotal member of Mauricio Pochettino’s first-team squad, with his versatility and goals playing a key role in Tottenham securing Champions League football in the last two seasons.

TV pundit, and former United star, Neville has been monitoring the 25-year-old’s career for some time and admits that he has always been a fan, telling Goal: “I first saw Son Heung-min when I was a coach at Man United and he was playing for Leverkusen. He was very impressive.

“And when I became a coach at Valencia, I suggested to sign Son Heung-min. He was the first player I suggested to sign at Valencia. I thought he was a fantastic young player.

“Our owners also knew him well. We needed a winger who has pace and the quality to score a goal. It never happened, but I followed his career.”

Neville also spoke about the similarities Son has with one of his former Old Trafford team-mates: “I played with Park Ji-sung at Man United, and they have similar qualities. Their attitude is fantastic. They give energy to their team.

“Park became a legend at Man United – unselfish work, played in big games. Everyone remembers he stopped [Andrea] Pirlo in the Champions League, he was great to play with, a nightmare to play against.

“I think Son is going the same direction with what Park did at Man United. Maybe Son scores more goals, Park is more of a team player, but they have similar qualities.”