There have been so many conflicting reports about Son Heung-min's future at Tottenham. Early in the transfer window, it seemed like Son was more likely to go than stay, but in the last several weeks, Tottenham and Son appeared to have worked out an agreement to have the club legend remain in North London for the final year of his contract.
Recently, though, seemingly spoonfed quotes from Daniel Levy to manager Thomas Frank cast slight doubt on Son's future with the club. Frank invoked the classic line that the club would decide Son's future, and his remarks seemed more like a caution to not assume Son would be staying rather than genuine excitement at the South Korean icon sticking around.
According to a report from the Daily Telegraph's journalist Matt Law, there is a "key player clause" in Tottenham's tour contract in South Korea, meaning the club could not actually sell the 33-year-old left winger before the tour in Asia. Specifically, Tottenham are set to face Premier League rivals Newcastle on Aug. 3 in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
Tottenham could lose millions
If Tottenham were to sell Son and thus not have him available for the tour, which also features a July 31 battle against North London rivals Arsenal, then Tottenham would have risked forfeiting 75 percent of their total earnings from the tour. That is a whopping hit, and anyone who knows anything about Daniel Levy knows that he would not take that hit.
Law also reports that if Son were to travel with the team but not play in the game in Seoul against Newcastle, they'd lose half the fee. So to recap, if Son isn't in the squad, they lose three-quarters of their earnings from the match in Seoul. And if he doesn't play, it's a loss of 50 percent.
You can see why there's a more cynical reason why Tottenham have neither sold Son nor seriously entertained any transfer offers from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and MLS for the South Korean superstar. They can't afford to sell him now and miss out on that money.
That doesn't guarantee Son will be sold at all, but it means that a lack of transfer movement around the Tottenham icon doesn't necessarily indicate that the forward is safe. When August hits, we'll get a better idea of how serious Tottenham are about keeping Son, because the minute they return from Asia, we could see the transfer rumors ramp up.