Last updated: 24 August 2026

Son Heung-min at Tottenham: When the Premier League Star Began to Emerge

By September 2016, Tottenham Hotspur were beginning to discover just how important Son Heung-min could become.

Son went into Premier League Gameweek 6 as one of the highest-rated players across Europe’s major leagues and responded with another outstanding performance, scoring twice as Tottenham beat Middlesbrough 2-1.

At the time, however, his long-term position in Mauricio Pochettino’s team was far from guaranteed.

Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Erik Lamela and Mousa Dembélé were among Tottenham’s established options, while Son had started only 13 Premier League matches during his first season in England.

What looked like a difficult fantasy football selection problem in 2016 would eventually become something much bigger: the emergence of one of Tottenham’s defining players of the modern era.

Son’s Breakthrough at Tottenham

Tottenham had challenged for the Premier League title during the 2015/16 season, producing some impressive football before eventually losing momentum during the closing stages of the campaign.

Pochettino strengthened his squad during the summer with players including Victor Wanyama, Moussa Sissoko and Vincent Janssen.

But one of Tottenham’s most important developments came from a player already at the club.

Son had joined Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015 but endured an inconsistent first Premier League campaign.

His second season began very differently.

After returning from international duty at the Olympics, the South Korean forward produced a run of performances that made him increasingly difficult for Pochettino to leave out.

Why Son Heung-min Was Such a Useful Tactical Option

Son’s versatility was already one of his most attractive qualities.

Pochettino had predominantly used a 4-2-3-1 formation during the previous season but also had the personnel to switch shape.

Son could operate from the left of an attacking three, play behind a central striker or move into more advanced positions when Tottenham changed their attacking structure.

That flexibility was familiar from his time at Bayer Leverkusen, where he had already demonstrated his ability to score regularly from wide attacking positions.

Rather than being restricted to the traditional role of a winger, Son could attack space, make diagonal runs towards goal and finish moves himself.

Those characteristics would eventually become central to his success in England.

The Original Fantasy Football Selection Dilemma

For fantasy football managers in September 2016, the problem was not Son’s form.

It was whether he would continue starting.

Tottenham possessed numerous attacking midfield options. Eriksen and Alli were already popular fantasy selections, Lamela offered another route into the Spurs attack and Dembélé had returned from suspension.

Son therefore represented the classic fantasy football dilemma: an in-form player with outstanding attacking potential but uncertainty surrounding his minutes.

Fantasy managers frequently face the same problem today.

A player’s underlying numbers and recent returns can be excellent, but those advantages lose value if rotation makes starts unpredictable.

Son’s Performances Made Him Difficult to Drop

Son’s response was straightforward: keep producing.

His two goals at Middlesbrough strengthened the argument for a permanent place in Tottenham’s attack and continued an excellent start to the season.

Spurs also faced a demanding schedule, with Champions League football adding another complication to Pochettino’s team selection.

Injuries to several first-team players created further opportunities.

At the time, the question was whether Son could take advantage of those circumstances sufficiently to establish himself.

With hindsight, we know the answer.

From Selection Risk to Tottenham Great

The uncertainty surrounding Son in 2016 now provides fascinating historical context.

He went on to become one of the most productive attacking players in Tottenham’s history and one of the most successful Asian footballers ever to play in Europe.

His partnership with Harry Kane became particularly significant, with the pair developing into one of the Premier League’s most productive attacking combinations.

Son also demonstrated remarkable consistency across different managers, tactical systems and stages of Tottenham’s development.

Perhaps the clearest individual demonstration of his development came in the 2021/22 Premier League season, when Son shared the Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah after scoring 23 league goals.

Remarkably, none of Son’s 23 goals that season came from penalties.

Son Heung-min’s Tottenham Legacy

By the time Son’s Tottenham career ended in 2025, the uncertainty that surrounded his place in the team during 2016 seemed extraordinarily distant.

He had progressed from an exciting but uncertain attacking option into captain, prolific goalscorer and one of the club’s most recognisable modern players.

His final season also delivered the major team honour that had eluded him for much of his Spurs career, as Tottenham won the UEFA Europa League in 2025.

That gave Son a European trophy as Tottenham captain and provided a fitting final chapter before his departure from the club later that year.

What Fantasy Managers Could Learn From Son’s Breakthrough

Looking back at the original analysis also highlights a useful fantasy football lesson.

Established reputation is not always the best guide to future returns.

Son entered that 2016 season competing with more established Tottenham fantasy options, but form was beginning to provide evidence that the hierarchy could change.

Fantasy managers willing to identify that transition early could gain an advantage before ownership and expectations caught up.

The principle remains relevant: look not only at who has historically been important to a team, but at whose role is becoming more important now.

The Land of the Rising Son

When this article was originally published in 2016, the central question was whether Son Heung-min could retain his place in Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham team.

Almost a decade later, that question illustrates just how quickly football careers can change.

Son did considerably more than retain his place.

He became a Premier League Golden Boot winner, Tottenham captain, European trophy winner and one of the outstanding players of his generation at the club.

What fantasy managers were witnessing in September 2016 was not simply a temporary run of form.

It was the beginning of the rise of Son.

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