Son Heung-min's 10 best Tottenham goals after Spurs captain announces emotional exit

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Puskas winner and cracking curlers: Son's best-ever goals for Tottenham
© Imago

When the majority of UK-based Tottenham Hotspur supporters were fast asleep in the early hours of Saturday morning, Son Heung-min dropped the bombshell that the Lilywhites faithful may or may not have anticipated; the Spurs captain would be leaving the club this summer.

Son made the announcement in a joint press conference with Thomas Frank ahead of Sunday's friendly with Newcastle United in South Korea, explaining that he had achieved everything that he could possibly achieve in North London after finally leading Spurs to glory in last season's Europa League.

The 33-year-old will lead Tottenham out as captain at least once more before an expected move to Los Angeles FC, and he will bid farewell to England with a stellar record of 173 goals in 454 matches for Spurs, making him their fifth-highest scorer of all time.

Son's 173 strikes inevitably include some long-range stunners and sensational solo efforts, and here, Sports Mole counts down the South Korean's best 10 goals in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt.

10. Leicester City (September 17, 2022)

© Imago

Thirteen is unlucky for some, although it was anything but for Son in September 2022, where the South Korean scored a scintillating hat-trick in a 6-2 thumping of Leicester City.

Son had been demoted to the bench by Antonio Conte amid a dry spell in front of goal, but after being introduced with his side 3-2 to the good, the rejuvenated attacker ran the Foxed defence ragged to put Spurs out of sight.

Fronting up to Wout Faes and Jonny Evans, Son's first of the night was an astounding curler into the roof of the net from 20 yards, before he left with the match ball under his arm.

9. Brighton & Hove Albion (April 8, 2023)

One of many historic feats Son achieved in a Lilywhites shirt, the 33-year-old struck his 100th Premier League goal against Brighton & Hove Albion in 2023, and in customarily spectacular fashion.

Twenty yards away from goal in the left half-space, Son worked a shooting angle for himself before bending a wonderful effort into the far corner to bring up his PL century.

In doing so, Son became the first-ever Asian player to register 100 goals in the competition, helping Cristian Stellini's Spurs on their way to a 2-1 success in North London.

8. Leicester City (May 1, 2022)

Only against Southampton (13) does Son boast more goals than he does against Leicester (10), who were the victims of another South Korean stunner towards the end of the 2021-22 Premier League season.

Son had already bagged one for himself at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before producing one of his trademark tremendous finishes to launch the Lilywhites into a 3-0 lead.

The attacker collected possession from Dejan Kulusevski just outside the penalty area, aimed for the top corner and found it with panache, leading to astonished hands-on-heads reactions from Emerson Royal and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

7. Middlesbrough (September 24, 2016)

 

The pick of the bunch from the earliest days of Son's Spurs career, the South Korean once again followed up a fine strike with an even better one against Middlesbrough in 2016.

Already boasting one goal to his name at the Riverside Stadium, Son advanced to the left byline with red shirts swarming over him, but he managed to retreat and keep hold of the ball while doing so.

The angle then opened up for Son to let fly from just inside the penalty area, and let fly he did with a homing missile into the far side of the net, which left Victor Valdes rooted to the spot.

6. Chelsea (November 24, 2018)

Taking their London rivals to the cleaners in November 2018, Spurs outfought and outclassed Chelsea at Wembley Stadium, where Dele Alli and Harry Kane quickly propelled Tottenham into a 2-0 advantage.

Meanwhile, Son was enduring an evening of frustration, as Kepa Arrizabalaga had the South Korean's number at first, albeit only until his solo brilliance shone through.

Son easily burned Jorginho for pace on the right wing, skipped past David Luiz as he cut inside and coolly slotted home Spurs' third to end the derby as a contest.

5. West Ham United (January 4, 2018)

Anything Pedro Obiang could do, Son could do better, as the Tottenham captain stole a point for his side at home to West Ham United in January 2018 with a sumptuous screamer.

Obiang had already stunned the Wembley crowd into silence with his own long-range rocket, but Son responded in kind after being afforded all the time and space he needed to pick his spot.

Mark Noble meekly tried to get in the way of Son's 30-yard attempt, but it was a futile endeavour as the Spurs man unleashed a wonder strike into the top corner.

4. Arsenal (December 6, 2020)

Spurs vs. Arsenal in December 2020 was one of the few occasions that season where fans were permitted entrance into the stadium, as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc across the globe.

Those select few who witnessed that North London derby in person also witnessed another Son stunner, one unsurprisingly set up by his deadly double act partner Harry Kane.

Son charged at the Arsenal backline after a delicate flick from the England captain, and as the Gunners defence retreated, green grass opened up for the South Korean to fire away.

A few seconds later, Son was wheeling away in celebration after curling a magnificent strike into the far corner, before returning the favour to Kane in a 2-0 success.

3. Manchester United (December 19, 2024)

The long-range curlers dried up as Son entered the final two years of his Spurs career, but the veteran attacker still had one last moment of magic left in him in December 2024.

Manchester United had threatened a comeback from 3-0 down in the second leg of their EFL Cup quarter-final, reducing the deficit to 3-2 before Son lined up a corner on the left-hand side.

Son's delivery missed all of his teammates but remarkably ended up finding its way in at the back post; Altay Bayindir's desperate pleas for a foul went unanswered.

2. Norwich City (May 22, 2022)

Well, the best goal in the world was never not going to be the best goal on this list.

A couple of months before the coronavirus forced the closure of grounds across the globe, a bustling Tottenham Hotspur Stadium witnessed a Puskas Award-worthy goal from one of their favourite sons.

After Burnley failed to make the most of a promising situation, Son collected the ball just outside his own penalty area, left almost the entire Clarets team trailing in his wake and finished the most extraordinary solo run with the most composed finish.

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