Freddie Ljungberg has said that Son Heung-min has to be more clever in timing his runs to avoid getting caught offside time and again.
Son has stepped up and really filled the void left by Harry Kane’s departure, having found the back of the net eight times in the Premier League since being moved to the number nine role.
However, there are some parts of his game that the South Korean needs to iron out, one of them being his tendency to get caught offside.
The 31-year-old had a hattrick of goals ruled out for offside in Tottenham’s 2-1 loss against Aston Villa on Sunday. In fact, according to the Premier League, no player has been caught offside more often than Son this season.
Speaking after the loss against Villa, the Tottenham captain himself opened up on the issue and admitted that he needed to time his runs better (Sports Chosun).
Heung-min Son needs to learn to hold his run
Ljungberg has now called on the Spurs forward to trust his pace more and be cleverer with his movement.
The Swede told Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football (broadcast on 27/11; 18:56): “I think he needs to trust his speed a bit more. You can go short and then go. He has to be more clever about it.
“And maybe I’m a positive human being, but give him a bit of time. It’s totally different to play as a winger or playing as a nine.”
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Son also needs to improve on getting on the end of crosses if he is to continue playing as a central striker.
The forward completely misread the flight of a pin-point cross from Bryan Gil in the first half and failed to get any contact on the ball with the goal gaping.
However, Son more than makes up for these weaknesses with his outstanding finishing ability with either foot.