It’s been a mixed start to the Premier League season for Tottenham Hotspur so far this year.
Ange Postecoglou’s side drew 1-1 away to Leicester City in their opening game of the campaign, then smashed Everton 4-0 at home the following weekend before falling to a 2-1 defeat away to Newcastle United last week.
However, while the results certainly haven’t been ideal, the performances have given fans reasons to be hopeful, and just like he was last season, Son Heung-min looks like he’s going to be one of the club’s biggest goal threats this year.
However, as talented as the South Korean superstar is, he is also 32 years old. Therefore, the Lilywhites have to start thinking about a long-term replacement for him, although the good news is that they may well already have one.
Son’s Spurs career
Tottenham fans have been blessed with some incredibly talented players in their recent history, from Luka Modrić and Gareth Bale over a decade ago to Harry Kane and Son in recent years.
However, while the others eventually left, the former Bayer Leverkusen ace has remained in N17 and has established himself as a bonafide modern-day legend amongst the fanbase, and for good reason.
Since making his £22m move to the club in 2015, the Chuncheon-born dynamo has made 411 appearances, in which he has scored a staggering 164 goals and provided 84 assists to boot, meaning that he has averaged a goal involvement every 1.65 games since his arrival – talk about world-class.
In fact, he is such an elite goalscorer that in the 2021/22 season, he won the Premier League Golden Boot alongside Mohamed Salah, but what’s so impressive is that none of his 23 league goals that season were penalties.
In all, Son is an icon of the Premier League and will go down as one of the Lilywhites’ best-ever players, but at 32 years old, the club must plan for his eventual departure or decline, and while he’s got enormous shoes to fill, the North Londoners might already have the perfect heir in their academy.
Why fans should be excited about Mikey Moore
The youngster in question is Spurs’ academy gem, Mikey Moore.
The 17-year-old has been a tour de force in the Lilywhites’ youth sides in recent years and, in just 33 appearances, has already racked up a seriously impressive haul of 20 goals and 15 assists, which equates to an average of a goal involvement every 0.94 games, or 1.06 per match.
The “outstanding” talent, as dubbed by Postecoglou, has been so impressive in the junior sides that he has now made two senior competitive appearances despite still being just 17 years old.
However, while his small cameos in the Premier League this season show how highly the club rate him, his performances in preseason showed how special a player he is.
For example, the Southwark-born star scored against Hearts and Vissel Kobe during the summer, and while they were friendlies, it’s still a massive step up from playing against kids.
Interestingly, the “brilliant” youngster, as talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed him, has played in a variety of positions, from centre-forward to attacking midfield, for the Lilywhites’ youth teams.
However, his most played position remains left-wing, meaning that he could potentially come off the bench for the captain at points this season, in a bid to get more first-team minutes.
Ultimately, Moore is still a kid, and Son looks like he could play at the top level for another couple of years, but when he does eventually need to be replaced, Spurs should already have the perfect candidate.
