Tottenham Hotspur waved goodbye to an institution in Son Heung-min, allowing him to leave for LAFC in MLS with his head held high as a Europa League champion and the team's leading goal contributor from the 2024/25 season. Needless to say, as Spurs stare down the barrel of relegation from the Premier League in 2026, Son has been sorely missed.
If Son never left Spurs this past summer, he would easily be the club's best attacking player this season, with all due respect to Mohammed Kudus, Dominic Solanke, and Mathys Tel. Spurs failed to replace him adequately on the left wing, and they most definitely did not replace his leadership. Cristian Romero gets more criticism than he deserves, but he absolutely has not adequately replaced Son as Spurs captain - and let's not even get to how big of a failure Micky van de Ven is with the arm band.
So it is hard to think of any real positives about Son leaving the Lilywhites in the summer 2025 transfer window. He has left a gaping hole in the squad and in the hearts of the Spurs faithful that has not been filled - or even attempted to be filled.
Son Heung-min is not a part of this failed season
But if there is one silver lining, then it is a very dark one that only emphasizes just how dire things have gotten for Tottenham Hotspur here in 2026. The best thing about Son leaving Tottenham is simply that he does not have to be a part of this horrid season.
Son leaving for the United States in 2025 read like a fairytale ending since he helped Spurs win a major European trophy for the first time in more than 40 years. Now, it looks even better because he does not get his legacy sullied by being part of the Tottenham team that got relegated.
Even in his final season, all was not rosy for Son. He suffered some nagging injuries that left him a shell of himself by the end of the campaign, and though he has recovered his form to shine in MLS, who is to say that he would not have been even more broken down by the grueling Premier League and Champions League schedules this season.
And instead of talking about how Son's last season was spent blighted by Spurs relegation or getting dragged down by Thomas Franks and the current malaise, we can write pieces like this and look back fondly on Son's career or the 2024/25 season, regardless of the fact that he was not at his best and that Spurs were already a lowly 17th in the Premier League.