After Tottenham Hotspur decided to part ways with manager Ange Postecoglou on Friday, there's been a lot of speculation as to which players could follow the beloved coach out the door. While center back Cristian Romero has been highlighted as the most likely to leave, there are real doubts about Son Heung-min's future in North London.
The club legend will be on an expiring contract, and while Spurs fans largely don't want to see the captain leave any time soon, Daniel Levy may have other ideas if he gets a rich offer from Saudi Arabia. Shortly after Postecoglou's firing, rumors of Son's potentially departure began to swirl, and ambitious Saudi giants Al-Hilal, keen on making an impression at the Club World Cup, have been concretely linked to the South Korean superstar.
Al-Hilal have been linked to a large number of great forwards in European football this summer, and they've already made arguably the biggest splash of the summer transfer window by hiring Champions League finalist Simone Inzaghi to manage them.
Their main target was Cristiano Ronaldo, who was rumored to be under consideration to switch Saudi giants from Al-Nassr to Al-Hilal by order of the government in order to increase the league's popularity and chances of making a statement at the Club World Cup. Al-Hilal and Real Madrid, after all, are in the same group.
Cristiano Ronaldo isn't leaving Al-Nassr
However, in the aftermath of Ronaldo's Nations League triumph with Portugal, Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Cristiano has publicly confirmed he is staying with Al-Nassr. CR7 will reportedly be signing a new contract with his club this summer.
That means Ronaldo is off the table for Al-Hilal, and with players like Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyokeres rejecting high salary offers from them, their attention could increasingly turn to the 32-year-old Son. Younger players like Osimhen and Gyokeres have no interest in Al-Hilal, so the Saudi powerhouse must keep going for veterans.
Since Cristiano will stay with Al-Nassr, their best hope at getting a big-name attacker who can move the needle and still play effective football at the top level may be acquiring Son Heung-min from Tottenham. Spurs fans worried about losing their biggest club legend will have to fret about this Cristiano news, since it means Al-Hilal could have more desperation and more funds to throw at Spurs and Son in order to coax a transfer.
Of course, not every Tottenham fan shares the same opinion, and there will be some who believe this is a natural time for Son to leave Spurs on a high and give the club back some valuable transfer capital that can be utilized to sign an up-and-coming Premier League winger like Bryan Mbeumo or Antoine Semenyo.