Ange must axe Son for “mind-blowing” Spurs ace

All of it comes right down to this: Tottenham Hotspur’s season rests on their tie towards Eintracht Frankfurt.

Ange Postecoglou’s facet have endured a torrid Premier League marketing campaign, and with them out of the FA Cup, the supervisor’s report of successful silverware in his second season depends on them successful the Europa League.

It could be honest to say then that tonight’s sport is crucial sport within the Australian’s tenure on the membership, so he has to get his choice and techniques spot on, because the German outfit are not any pushovers.

Due to this fact, whereas it would sound harsh and possibly even a little bit counterintuitive, he should take Son Heung-min out of the beginning lineup.

Why Son needs to be dropped

So, earlier than folks begin throwing issues, we recognise that on capacity alone, Son is among the higher gamers within the Spurs squad, however sadly, that alone will not be sufficient in a sport like this.

Frankfurt are going to come back flying out of the blocks tonight, and whereas it is not his fault, the South Korean famous person will not be the speedy and extremely dynamic winger he as soon as was.

It is a easy truth of life that, at 32 years previous, he is not in a position to play video games with the identical stage of depth that he as soon as did, with analysis from The Athletic declaring that broad gamers peak at 26 and turn out to be considerably much less efficient at beating their full-back as soon as they hit 30.

Furthermore, the previous Bayer Leverkusen star hasn’t even been producing a lot both, as he is scored only one aim in his final ten league appearances and failed so as to add to his tally within the Spherical of 16 tie towards AZ Alkmaar.

Lastly, in response to FBref, he is within the backside 44% of attacking midfielders and wingers for profitable take-ons within the Premier League this season, which isn’t what you need out of your left-winger forward of a must-win European knockout tie.

The excellent news is that there’s somebody who might step in for Son, somebody with current expertise of taking part in in Germany.

The Spurs star who ought to begin forward of Son

Whereas some would possibly name for Mikey Moore to start out on the left tonight, we reckon the participant to come back in for Son needs to be Mathys Tel.

Now, we all know the Frenchman hasn’t precisely lit the world alight since shifting to North London within the winter window, however he has proven glimpses of high quality right here and there, reminiscent of his comfort aim away to Aston Villa within the FA Cup.

Nevertheless, that is probably not related, as the principle purpose he needs to be in from the phrase go tonight is that, based mostly on his performances final season, he is able to bringing an abundance of vitality and dynamism to the left-hand facet, and in flip possible power Frankfurt to no less than be extra cautious of fast breaks and counter-attacks.

For instance, FBref positioned him within the high 9% of attacking midfielders and wingers within the Bundesliga for profitable take-ons final season, with a median of three.17 per 90.

Furthermore, when the “mind-blowing” prospect, as dubbed by expertise scout Jacek Kulig, was given sport time, he was merely sensational, scoring ten objectives and offering six assists in simply 1406 minutes throughout 41 appearances.

Meaning the explosive attacker averaged a aim involvement each 2.56 video games, or extra impressively, each 87.87 minutes.

Lastly, it could even be an excellent concept to play Tel for the primary 65 minutes or so, have him run the defence ragged, after which carry Son on, who would possibly be capable of discover extra space and punish them together with his nonetheless spectacular ending.

Finally, Spurs have to win this tie to save lots of their season, and one of the simplest ways of doing that’s by taking part in with depth and dynamism, which is one thing the Frenchman has in spades.