Liverpool have several reasons to fear a potent Tottenham Hotspur side on Sunday, but over the years they will have learned to fear one player more than any other when the two sides meet. Indeed, Son Heung-Min absolutely relishes facing the Reds and has a goalscoring record that would concern any side.
The South Korean seemed to enjoy tormenting the Reds and former boss Jurgen Klopp more than any other side and while there is a new man in the dugout for Liverpool, Arne Slot is fully aware of the threat Ange Postecoglu’s potent, if inconsistent, team pose.
And while he may be considered one of the nicer players in the Premier League, Liverpool still have reason to be sick of the sight of Spurs’ South Korean forward. He has, after all, scored eight goals from his last 11 Premier League starts against Liverpool.
Yet for all his strikes, Son’s record of results against Liverpool doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. He has won just two of the 18 games he’s lined up against the Reds. And of course, that includes Tottenham’s defeat in the 2019 Champions League final.
Still, Slot will be all too aware that the South Korean is a danger-man who could deal their title hopes a big blow if he maintains such form on Sunday. And if Slot has any doubts, his predecessor certainly knew the forward, now 32 years old, is near impossible to stop.
“One of the biggest mistakes in my life is not signing Son Heung-min,” he rued to Korean outlet KBS News in November 2021. “Outstanding player. He is fantastic, a sign of Korean football and one of the best strikers in the world.”
The German failed to sign the forward for Borussia Dortmund when he left Hamburg in 2013, as Son opted to join Bayer Leverkusen instead in a €10m deal.
“I wanted to stay in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen and Dortmund wanted me,” the South Korean later recalled when explaining his decision to snub Klopp. “Both teams play in the Champions League but I thought Dortmund would use rotation more than Leverkusen.
“That’s why I chose Leverkusen over Dortmund. It’s really important to play regularly at my age.”
Two years later, having scored 29 goals across two campaigns for Leverkusen, he would sign for Spurs for £22m in the same summer that Klopp left the Bundesliga. Now, a Tottenham Premier League legend, he boasts 169 goals from 427 appearances across 10 seasons. But crucially, no trophies.
Given Klopp’s admiration for Son, Liverpool have sporadically been linked with his services over the years. Yet that ship seems to have long since sailed.
But while the German might consider it one of his ‘biggest mistakes’ not signing the South Korean, Liverpool will have no regrets. Son is the same age as their famous, now dismantled, attacking triumvirate of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Salah, after all.
Firmino would make his own switch from Bundesliga to Premier League the same summer as Son, joining the Reds for £29m from Hoffenheim. Enduring a slow start, partly because of injury, once Klopp took over as manager in October 2015 and inherited the Brazilian, the forward was revitalised and became a legend at the club.
As for Mane, he was snapped up from Southampton for £34m in the summer of 2016. Klopp had previously tried to sign the Senegalese for Dortmund, as he had also attempted with Son, only to decide against the switch. He would later admit he could have punched himself for such a decision, and made sure to make amends at Anfield, righting a wrong that he couldn’t with regards to the South Korean, once the 31-year-old became available.
Mane would register 120 goals and 38 assists from 269 appearances for Liverpool before leaving for Bayern Munich in a £35m switch last year.
Meanwhile, Salah signed from AS Roma for £43.9m in the summer of 2017. He currently boasts 227 goals for the club and is enjoying one of the best campaigns since joining. He will leave as one of the greatest players in the club’s history.
Between them, the trio would help transform the Reds’ fortunes under Klopp. While Firmino and Mane would help get Liverpool back into the Champions League, the addition of Salah contributed to their transformation into one of Europe’s strongest sides.
All three would win every major honour on offer to them under Klopp as the Reds were crowned champions of England, Europe, and the world.
And with Salah – like Son at Spurs – still leading Liverpool’s charge, their could be even more glory in Slot’s first campaign as Liverpool boss.
