Son Heung-Min Helping Spurs' UEFA Champions League Qualification Bid

Son Heung-Min continued his fine form for Tottenham Hotspur last Saturday with his 15th Premier League goal of the current season. Son’s 86th-minute winner was enough to end the resistance of an obstinate Luton Town as Spurs kept the pressure on Aston Villa for a place in the EPL’s top four in 2023/24.

After a challenging domestic season in 2022/23, Son has played a vital role in Tottenham’s challenge in the club’s first campaign without its erstwhile captain, Harry Kane, who is now setting the Bundesliga alight at Bayern Munich. Now the Spurs club captain, in addition to his national team captaincy role, the extra responsibility afforded Son by current manager Ange Postecoglou has revitalised the 31-year-old’s game.

Along with fellow Korean EPL stars Hwang Hee-Chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest’s Hwang Ui-Jo, Son Heung-Min has improved the English Premier League following in his homeland and the Korean community of New Malden, a suburban region in South-west London that is home to the largest Korean community in Europe, and known affectionately as “Little Seoul” by residents.

How Koreans Can Further Support and Back Their Sporting Icons

The Premier League’s improved following among Son’s compatriots has transferred to overseas Toto betting sites, like those listed on Techopedia, where thousands of Korean sports bettors make use of the facilities on offer to back their teams in a range of markets and chosen sports persona through available individual ones.

Jaehoon, an editor at Techopedia, explains why the Korean language Toto sites are so convenient for Korean-speaking punters to use and why they simplify the sports betting process for those wanting to back their home-grown favourites and their sports teams:

“Toto site offers a variety of betting markets, promotions, betting types, and payment options. Our Techopedia team comprehensively reviewed dozens of online sites to find the best Sports Toto site. We focus on offshore Toto sites that are licensed in one or more jurisdictions (e.g. Curaçao) and provide services legally under a license agreement” (https://www.techopedia.com/kr/gambling/toto-sites)

Son Heung-Min’s Improvement in 2023/24

From a goalscoring perspective, Son endured his worst EPL season in 2022/23 since his debut campaign seven seasons before. With only ten goals in 36 Premier League matches, Spurs fans started questioning whether their ever-consistent, much-beloved South Korean backup striker to Harry Kane needed replacing in the Tottenham attack.

With the advent of the current season, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium club experienced a transformation in management and playing staff. By March 2023, an increasingly dissatisfied Antonio Conte had departed by mutual consent, with Ryan Mason installed as caretaker head coach until the end of the season. 

Spurs ended the 2022/23 season in a lowly eighth position under Mason, with a seemingly unhappy and underperforming Son not helping the club’s cause. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy made the call to hire Glasgow Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou as Conte’s permanent replacement. 

The club’s captain and record goalscorer, Harry Kane, left for Germany shortly after the Australian’s arrival, meaning greater responsibility fell on Son Heung-Min’s shoulders as the remaining senior attacking player. Postecoglou immediately recognised the importance of the South Korean national captain’s role in his squad and immediately promoted Son to club captain.

Son rose to the additional pressure of the captaincy and, leading the Spurs attacking line in conjunction with the Brazilian Richarlison, displayed a return to goalscoring form that astounded fans and sports bettors alike.

A happy Son began scoring goals again, and the team flourished, starting the new EPL season unbeaten in the first ten games. The new Spurs captain contributed eight goals during this period, including a hat-trick against Burnley and a further brace against Arsenal. Injuries to new signings Mickey van de Ven and James Maddison, out for nine and ten games respectively, rocked Tottenham thereafter, slowing its positive progress.

Son missed three Premier League games as he led his national side to the AFC Asian Cup semi-finals at the beginning of the year, scoring three goals in the process. He returned to a Tottenham side playing attractive football under Postecoglou and maintaining its challenge for UEFA Champions League qualification. 

Son Heung-Min has scored three goals for his club in his last four EPL games, including the all-important one against Luton. On current form, there is every chance that the South Korean marksman can lead Tottenham Hotspur to a place in Europe’s elite competition by the end of the season.

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