‘I'd let Son Heung-min leave – he's a legend, but the Premier League is too quick for him now. In the Europa League final, his legs were gone. It happens to everyone eventually' Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder tells FFT why he'd accept bid for star
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Son Heung-min. | Credit: Getty Images
It's 10 years since Son Heung-min joined Tottenham Hotspur from Bayer Leverkusen – a decade on, he's a bona fide Spurs legend.
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The South Korean has scored 173 goals in 454 games for Spurs, and finally secured the first major club trophy of his career in May, when he lifted the Europa League trophy as captain.
Since then though, there have been reports that he may leave the club, with Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce and Saudi Arabian sides among those linked.
It's the right time for Tottenham and Son Heung-min to part, says Jamie O'Hara
Son Heung-min | Credit: Getty Images
Son turns 33 in early July, and former Spurs midfielder Jamie O'Hara thinks the time might be right to allow him to leave if a suitable offer is received.
'If a big opportunity came, I'd let him go,' O'Hara told FFT. 'I think he's come to his end in terms of being the top footballer he was, and maybe he needs to go to a bit of a slower league.
Jamie O'Hara | Credit: Alamy
'The Premier League is too quick for him and he's lost his legs a bit. He's been an unbelievable servant to the club, but there are times when the game moves on.
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'He's a legend, I'd love him to stay at Tottenham and be the player that he was, but I just don't know if I'm going to see that again, I don't think he's got that in him any more.'
Son scored just seven Premier League goals in 2024-25, and was only used as a substitute in the Europa League final on his way back from injury.
'In the final, his legs were gone,' O'Hara said, speaking in association with Grosvenor Sport. 'I know he'd come back from injury, and it's hard coming back from injury – I did it loads of times and it's not easy.
'I feel for him but he looks like he's lost his legs and that happens to everyone. He needs the sharpness, the first two or three yards that he used to have. He'd push it past you and he was gone. Now when you watch him play, he can't do that.
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'Ryan Giggs used to do that, bang he was gone, he'd be sharp as anything, then when he got older, he had to change his game.
'He adapted because he couldn't push the ball past people any more, he became a bit of a midfielder. Can Son do that, can he adapt his game? You've got to learn to do things differently.'
Son Heung-min | Credit: Alamy
Having finally won a trophy with Spurs, there's also a possibility that Son himself may think the time is right to depart North London.
'Absolutely,' O'Hara said. 'He's lifted that trophy that he's always wanted, he's done it with Tottenham, he's been an incredible leader and an incredible player.
'He's made Tottenham one of the biggest clubs in Asia, commercially. He's a legend of the club.'
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