Tottenham have reached an agreement with South Korea which will see Heung-Min Son play the entirety of this month’s Asian Games but miss the opening two fixtures of the Asian Cup in January, according to reports.
Spurs initially faced losing Son, one of their standout players last season, for two long spells during the 2018/19 campaign because of South Korea’s international obligations.
The 26-year-old has good reason to feature at the Asian Games: a gold medal is likely to exempt him from mandatory military service.
According to Sky Sports, Tottenham originally wanted Son to miss the group stage of the Asian Games, but they will now allow him to fly out after their Premier League opener at Newcastle United on August 11th and play the entire tournament.
In exchange, South Korea have agreed that Son will miss the first two games of the Asian Cup, which takes place in January – he will also miss an international friendly in November.
So while Son will miss important early matches for Tottenham, he will be more readily available at crucial stages of the season further down the line.
Do you think Spurs have made the right decision? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Sounds like a good compromise – better than losing him for 21 months- if he is successful at the games and can postpone his military service.
I guess I was unsure of why Spurs had Son sign a 5 year contract when there is more than a possibility that he will have to do military service. Maybe there is something in his contract that addresses this possibility? Don’t get me wrong…I do NOT want to see Sonny leave just wonder how the contract handles that.