Tottenham Hotspur star Heung-min Son could become the team’s Eden Hazard, after proving he can play as a central striker.
Mauricio Pochettino decided to put his faith in the South Korean international to lead the line against bitter rivals Arsenal in the Carabao Cup quarter-final on Wednesday.
The Argentine tactician could have fielded natural striker Fernando Llorente, but decided against calling on the veteran Spaniard to replace Harry Kane who had been under the weather earlier this week.
Son opened the scoring at the Emirates Stadium after a through ball from Dele Alli, and his all-round game playing up top was fairly impressive.
He found space in behind a number of times, and also came short to link up with the midfield.
Son can become Tottenham’s Eden Hazard equivalent
With Son having proved he can lead the line in the absence of Kane, the star could well kick on and become Spurs’ version of Hazard.
Obviously the Belgian is a world-class talent blessed with amazing technical ability, but Son is not a million miles off and has the potential to reach his level.
Like Son, Hazard primarily operates from the left flank, but is now capable of playing through the middle.
He is often used by Sarri at the expense of Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud, and maybe now Son could become Kane’s deputy ahead of Llorente.
In terms of statistics: in 224 Premier League games, Hazard has scored 77 and made 48 assists. In 111 games, Son has scored 33 and made 15 assists, meaning the ex-Bayer Leverkusen winger’s goal productivity rate is very similar.