David Webb has praised the development of Heung-min Son at Tottenham but admits he was far from being a finished product when he first joined the club.
Son joined Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015 in a deal worth £22 million (BBC Sport) after impressing during his time in the Bundesliga when Webb was Head of Elite Potential Identification at Spurs.
However, the South Korea international struggled to make a big impact during his first season in north London, netting just four Premier League goals in 28 appearances while making just 13 starts (Transfermarkt).
Fortunately, the following seasons saw Son begin to elevate his level to become one of Europe’s best forwards, while forming a deadly partnership with Harry Kane.
Webb, who is currently head of football operations at Huddersfield, was part of the team at Spurs who brought Son to N17 early on during his stint at the club.
The transfer chief has revealed that Son was a diamond in the rough at the time but has now fully blossomed into a world-class footballer.
Webb told the What The Footie podcast (07/02/22): “We didn’t have the budget of a Man City or Chelsea, Man United or Liverpool for example, so what we wanted to find was the level underneath.
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“Son ticked that box straight away. He ticked the box for physical attributes which he would need to play in the press style that Mauricio played.
“He had to have those attributes, he had clever movement in attacking areas. He was nowhere near the finished article, but he had good technical ability. He was sharp and he was intelligent, while he had a phenomenal work rate as well.
“All of those ingredients meant that he was in our remit and we could acquire a player like that, but we also understood that he would need time to adapt, which it did, it took him five or six months to really get into the flow of the Premier League and the culture of Tottenham.
“It’s about spotting talents in their purest form, Son was just at that right time where he was ready for a new talent to develop.
“If you’re in that position where you can develop that talent, whether it’s a first-team or a youth talent, and Son is now a world-class player, those environments help to shape them to who they are now.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Son took a few months to get going at Tottenham and many thought he wouldn’t be able to adjust to the English game. A season later, he showed everyone just how good he can be and he has continued that upward trajectory to this day.
He has been one of the most important players for Spurs for a while now and it looks like some of the best bit of business the club has done in recent years.
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