Ange Postecoglou revealed that Tottenham Hotspur are currently in discussions with the Korean Football Administration about potentially delaying Son Heung-min’s trip to Qatar for the Asian Cup.
The tournament gets underway on January 12, with South Korea set to play their first game against Bahrain on 15 January.
With Jurgen Klinsmann’s side ranked third in Asia behind Saudi Arabia and Japan, they are one of the favourites to go all the way in the tournament, which means that there is a good chance that the Tottenham man will not return to North London until the second week of February.
It was initially reported Son will fly to Abu Dhabi to link up with his international teammates following Tottenham’s clash against Bournemouth on 31 December (Steve Han).
Son could stick around a little longer at Spurs
However, Postecoglou confirmed in his press conference on Wednesday that Tottenham are in talks to extend the date of their captain’s departure to the start of January (Hayters).
When asked if Spurs are fighting to ensure the 31-year-old is available for the FA Cup clash against Burnley on January 5, Postecoglou has now told Football.London: “It’s not a fight, just a discussion. Ultimately we’re at the behest of the federation and we’ll take our cues from there.
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“You know I won [the competition]. I rank it pretty highly. A lot of European fans see the Euros as important so it is the same as that for the Asian Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations.
“People can talk about the timing but with the amount of football players are playing, all tournaments even in the off-season you worry about your players because they don’t get a break. I hope Sonny goes on to finish runner-up to Australia again. I’d be really happy about that.”
Spurs Web Opinion
International coaches generally prefer to have their squad together at least two to three weeks before major tournaments. So, I am not sure if the Korean Federation would agree to let Son stay at Tottenham until January 5.
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