‘Elite’ Son Heung-min not slowing down – Ange Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou does not believe Tottenham captain Son Heung-min is set to “slow down” any time soon.

Son set up Brennan Johnson to score twice at Ipswich on Saturday to move into double figures for assists this season alongside 10 goals in all competitions.

The South Korea attacker had only found the net four times going into December to raise questions about his long-term future, but has been more prolific since and the club triggered a one-year extension in January to keep him contracted until the summer of 2026.

On Wednesday Son will get the chance to show his class again when Manchester City visit and Postecoglou has backed a player with 13 goal involvements in this fixture to continue to flourish.

“His ability to beat players, even in tight areas, is elite. His finishing I think is elite,” Postecoglou said.

“Sonny’s benefitted from the fact he’s been able to have a break between games. We saw that on the weekend after being able to recover from one game to another and having a full week to get his energy levels back, he was outstanding, particularly in the first half.

“And he was great before. You never want to try to predict with players like Sonny how long he will go for because those kind of players I think always defy whatever odds there are because of the way they look after themselves and conduct themselves, the levels.

“Even this year, as difficult as it has been for us, I think his numbers still stack up. You weigh him up against any winger in the league, he’s still going to be top five.

“Those are the facts and if he’s continuing to do that, there’s nothing to say he should slow down.”

Postecoglou will look to Son for more inspiration on Wednesday, especially with Dominic Solanke and Richarlison sidelined.

That has led to deadline-day arrival Mathys Tel being deployed in a central striker position to mixed effect, with a goal at Aston Villa and a lively display against Manchester United followed by a difficult afternoon away to Ipswich despite an eventual 4-1 victory for Tottenham.

Tel signed for Spurs after he struggled for minutes at Bayern Munich and Postecoglou has scoffed at premature criticism of the 19-year-old.

He added: “With Mathys, and I’m not on social media but I can just imagine the comments about him.

“He’s 19 years old, he hadn’t played a lot, we’ve thrown him in and kept him in there because I want to build up his fitness, but if anyone is expecting him to come in as a 19-year-old and take the Premier League by storm by scoring multiple goals, it’s not realistic. It just can’t happen.

“At 19, I see really outstanding attributes in him that I think he could be a really good number nine, he can play wide as well, but he’s not going to be a Dom or a (Liam) Delap, he’s a different type.

“He may not be getting the goals and the accolades, but he’s certainly contributing to the way we want to play. That’s the most important thing.

“He’s got so much growth in him and I’m sure we’ll see that.”

Postecoglou also revealed Micky van de Ven (hamstring), Cristian Romero (groin) and Solanke (knee) “should all be available to play” for the Europa League last-16 second leg at home to AZ Alkmaar on March 13.