Tottenham Hotspur Links: Son Heung-min Could Miss the Start of the 2016-17 Premier League Season
![English: Son Heung-Min, South Korean football player for Hamburger SV. // 9 November 2011 // Crofab - [Own work]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fc1c80ee38915d4773551d7f6fb514a89b80a0786a087b7e93c298ce2dad98a4f.jpg "English: Son Heung-Min, South Korean football player for Hamburger SV. // 9 November 2011 // Crofab - [Own work]")
It’s time for another Tottenham Hotspur Links today.
Let’s get straight to the stories for the day, which is three. To start with, Son Heung-min could miss the start of the 2016-17 Premier League season if he joins South Korea for the 2016 Olympics which is an Under-23 tournament for men’s football.
Next up, FC Utrecht and Swansea City are embroiled in a 30 percent transfer fee sell-on kerfuffle involving Tottenham goalkeeper Michel Vorm. Finally, Dominic Ball who is on a season-long loan with Rangers in the Scottish Championship has been having a very good season but still wants to improve even more. To the links below.
RELATED: Tottenham Links: Sherwood Likes Managers Who Develops Young Talent
Representing your country is a big deal for footballers so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Son Heung-min decide to join South Korea for their 2016 Olympics run which is set to take place between August 5th through August 21st. Of course, Son could decide to skip the Olympics and focus on improving his game with Tottenham — except he already did that during the 2012 Olympics in London when he wanted to focus on his club commitment with Hamburger SV.
The new Under-23 South Korea coach, Shin Tae Yong, wants to bring Son Heung-min to his squad if he has the chance to because Son has been doing well recently with Tottenham and is the best Korean footballer right now:
"“He is an extraordinary player and is the best Korean footballer at this moment,” Shin told Korea Portal. “Under the condition that we are going to the Olympics, there is no hesitation to pick him. “If he can do well, as he has been doing, we should bring him to the Olympics. He will contribute big for our team.”"
- Michel Vorm’s transfer from Swansea City to Tottenham is going to the CAS
- [via Enfield Independent]
Tottenham goalkeeper Michel Vorm is set to become a subject during a court hearing between Dutch club FC Utrecht and Welsh club Swansea City in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on January 29, 2016.
The reason for Vorm’s transfer being an issue with Utrecht is because the Dutch club has stated that they are owned 30 percent from a sell-on fee that was added into Michel Vorm’s contract when he was sold to Swansea in 2011. This meant that if Swansea ever sold the Dutch international, Utrecht was supposed to receive 30 percent back in return.
Therefore, when Tottenham signed Vorm from Swansea for £3.5 million last season, 30 percent would be £2,450,000, which should have gone back to Utrecht. But because the Swans had allegedly put a zero valuation on Vorm’s transaction to Spurs, Utrecht got nothing hence this court hearing between the two clubs. Of this is between FC Utrecht and Swansea City only, but something to keep an eye on.
It should be noted that Garry Monk has stated that Swansea did nothing wrong while FIFA has dismissed the case as a whole.
- Spurs loanee, Dominic Ball, talks about self improvement
- [via Rangers official site]
More from Hotspur HQ
- Storybook ending after difficult period for Tottenahm’s Richarlison
- Tottenham comeback showcased invaluable intangible Ange has cultivated
- Tottenham player ratings in 2-1 comeback win over Sheffield United
- Tottenham projected starting 11 for Sheffield United
- Tottenham’s Richarlison says he’s going to seek psychological help
Ever since going out on loan to the Rangers for a season, Dominic Ball, has appeared in 12 games for the Gers in all competitions, with seven games sitting on the bench as a substitute player, one assist and 957 minutes played.
It took a while for Ball to get his Rangers’ career going but since October 3rd against Falkirk in the Scottish Championship, the second division of Scottish football, Dominic Ball has appeared in seven consecutive games, six which have seen the 20-year-old English international play the full 90 minutes.
In all 12 of Dominic Ball’s appearances, 10 of those games saw him play 90 minutes which is not only good for first team experience but also shows that he has earned a spot in Mark Warburton’s starting eleven. But playing well and helping the team earn six clean sheets in all competitions in games that Ball has started isn’t enough. He wants to improve even more.
Following Rangers’ 4-0 win over Dumbarton yesterday (December 1st), Dominic Ball had this to say about his team and even more about himself. (Emphasis are in bold.)
"The 20-year-old said: “As a whole team we thrive for clean sheets and a lot of goals and today we got that. I was quite pleased with my performance but there are still a lot of things I could have done better and that is the way I am, I like to look at some of my weaknesses and work on them in training. I will look at the game after this and I will try and improve but overall I thought everyone did excellently tonight.”"
Next: Ayoze Pérez is Not What Tottenham Need
For a 20-year-old, Dominic Ball is well-grounded and wants to keep improving. He’s already a first team starter in Mark Warburton’s lineup this season now after starting the past six league games. With Miloš Veljković not renewing his contract this January and Ball returning to Tottenham in the summer. Right now, Ball would be a better option than Veljković if Mauricio Pochettino had to promote a center-back to his squad.