This past summer transfer window, Tottenham Hotspur waved goodbye to a true legend, as Son Heung-min elected to walk away from the club after winning the Europa League and have his head held high as he rode off into the sunset to finish his career with MLS.
But the thing is, Tottenham didn't adequately replace Son. Even though the 2024/25 season represented a decline in the South Korean superstar's play, he was still the team's leader in Premier League goal contributions.
Based on how well he has been playing for LAFC in MLS, Son clearly has enough left in the tank to start for Spurs, especially under Thomas Frank with a stronger backbone behind him. Neither WIlson Odobert nor Mathys Tel are ready to start every week, and Tottenham could use an established veteran. With better health, too, Son could outproduce his 2024/25 numbers in the 2025/26 version of Tottenham.
Under that lens, it makes sense why many Spurs fans are regretting letting Son go and why many of them are yearning for Son, like Harry Kane, to make a reunion for one last dance with the current Tottenham team under Frank. There are many Spurs fans who are hoping for a reunion with Son this winter from LAFC, and fueling that was a recent report of AC Milan thinking of acquiring him on a short-term loan from Los Angeles in the winter window.
An unrealistic transfer for Tottenham
Any Tottenham fan pondering this possibility needs to realize how unrealistic it is, even if, in theory, Son could help the team in the short term. First of all, even though Son is playing well in MLS, it isn't the Premier League or Champions League. Son left for a reason on his own terms and is unlikely to want to come back after already mulling the decision, while Spurs know that they themselves need to move on in to the great unknown at some point - and this was the best time to do that.
But even logistically, a transfer back to Tottenham doesn't make much sense. The English transfer window is open in January only. On January 31, the window ends, and so Son would either have to go back to LAFC and only play for Spurs for one month, which is litearlly useless to Tottenham, or he would return on a permanent basis and lead to the same questions over again albeit a year later and with less transfer value.
Tottenham could sign him for a more prolonged loan, but it just doesn't work out in the calendar or make any sense for any of the parties, least of all LAFC. So stick a fork in it. Son isn't coming back.