From the pre-season through to the team finale at Norwich, no player was more consistent or significant for Tottenham Hotspur than Heung-min Son this year, our HotspurHQ Player of the Season.
Now that Spurs season is behind us, we can reflect on what turned into an outstanding campaign via a strong finish. At HotspurHQ, we discussed the team and are giving out awards for our top performers, starting with our Tottenham Player of the Season – Heung-min Son, who finished the campaign with 23 goals and nine assists in Premier League play.
Tottenham is fortunate Sonny is a Hotspur
The campaign for player of the year started in the pre-season for Son; as he did something significant for Tottenham in July of 2021, Sonny signed an extension. A few weeks before Sonny signed his new deal with the club, Nuno Espirito Santo was announced as manager. While the entire world thought Harry Kane was leaving Spurs, there was Son, committing his footballing future to the club.
During the season’s opening month, Son carried Tottenham, while Kane was unavailable. Son scored two of the three goals in the opening three wins of the campaign; the third was a Dele Alli penalty.
Son’s overall importance to the team was underlined when he missed their next game following an injury he picked up on the international break. Although his early return from injury left him less than 100%, he still faced Chelsea and Arsenal, scoring an all-important goal for the team’s psyche at the end of three straight losses.
Story continues…
Son adapted quickly to Coach Conte
Following the hiring of Antonio Conte, it was Heung-min Son who first really caught fire under the Italian. During the team’s initial nine-match unbeaten run under the new gaffer, Son scored goals in four consecutive matches and added three assists.
In January, an injury started to slow Son down, but he returned after missing two games scoring again in Spurs’ loss to Southampton. As Son went through a mini-slump – one goal and two assists over four games – Spurs lost three out of four.
Following the loss at Burnley, where Conte said he was not sure if he was suitable for Tottenham or not, everyone was worried the coach of our dreams was leaving. Instead, Sonny put the team on his back – with a bit of help from a new arrival – and willed Spurs to fourth place.
In the 14 games Spurs played after that loss to Burnley, Son scored 14 goals as Tottenham finished the season with ten wins, two draws, and two defeats. Sonny added another three assists for good measure during this run.
Of course, those 14 goals would have been incomplete without the two against Norwich on the season’s final day, giving Sonny a share of the Premier League Golden Boot and guaranteeing Spurs Champions League football in 2022/23.
Interestingly enough, 17 goal contributions are the same number Kane had over the last 14 matches, with ten goals and seven assists. Had Kane been that productive all season, we may have had a different player of the year. Alas, 2022 was the year of Son, and things are shining bright at Tottenham Hotspur.