Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino ready to ditch South Korean striker Son Heung-min after Newcastle horrorshow compounded disappointing season
£22million forward completed just one Premier League match and lasted only first 45 minutes of Lilywhite's Toon travesty
Spurs want to offload South Korean flop Son Heung-min after his Newcastle horrorshow sealed his fate.
The forward was a huge £22million signing last summer when he was brought in to hopefully rival Tottenham idol Harry Kane for the lone-striker role.
But, after a number of forgettable cameos and one unforgettable farce against the Toon on the final day of the season, The Telegraph claim he is getting axed.
The 23-year-old moved to White Hart Lane from Bayer Leverkusen in August and arrived with a big reputation.
However, in his debut season, he managed just 13 Premier League starts and was withdrawn in 12 of those.
His final appearance of the season should have coincided with Spurs securing second place ahead of arch rivals Arsenal.
But it ended after just 45 abject minutes as Mauricio Pochettino’s side choked and relegated Newcastle smashed them 5-1 in a humiliating loss.
The Argentine described the day as the worst of his career, admitting he was ashamed to go home to his family after the rout.
The former Saints boss ruled out tactical failings for the loss and instead laid the blame at certain players not giving their all.
He also hinted that the shambolic individual displays from some of his players might shape his transfer decisions during this busy summer when he and Daniel Levy will be busy spending their newfound Champions League riches.
He said: “When you don’t play with 100% intensity it is impossible to win games.
“It wasn’t about football, it wasn’t about tactics, it wasn’t about skill. It was about mentality. It’s true that we weren’t here. We were on holiday and that is the reality. We cannot hide.
“It was good information for me from the players and squad. It was good to help me make decisions.”
Son joins up with the Korean national team on Monday and he hopes to represent them in the upcoming Rio Olympics.
After scoring in Spurs’ 2-1 defeat to Southampton he said: “”Why not [play]? It’s a very nice tournament and competition and every player wants to go to play there.
“I’ve played in the World Cup and Asian Cup and I haven’t played in the Olympics. We’ll see what happens.”
Son will be 24 when the tournament begins so will have to enter as one of three wildcards and he will need to get his club’s written permission to participate.
Selling Son – if Spurs can get a good price – would avoid an ugly club-v-country row as the attacker could be away until August 20 and miss the start of the Premier League season.