Spurs target £21m Son upgrade who’s "extremely fast and very dangerous"

Tottenham Hotspur gave themselves a real chance of making it to the League Cup final with their 1-0 win over Liverpool last night, but aside from that, this season has been a tough one for the club.

Ange Postecoglou’s side have been riddled with injuries, which have contributed massively to their slide down the Premier League table over the last few months.

However, on top of their injury woes, the team have been wildly inconsistent on the pitch, and a number of stars have looked way off the pace for much of the campaign, including Son Heung-min.

The South Korean superstar has still been able to find the back of the net seven times but has been limited to 69% of available minutes in the league, so recent reports linking the club to a potential upgrade are not that surprising.

Tottenham Hotspur target exciting forward

According to a recent report from Caught Offside, Tottenham are one of several teams interested in signing Borussia Dortmund star Donyell Malen.

Alongside the North Londoners, the report claims that fellow Premier League side Aston Villa are incredibly keen on the Dutchman and that while they have supposedly agreed personal terms with him, they remain some way from the German side’s valuation, thus leaving room for Daniel Levy and Co to pounce.

A potential price tag is not mentioned in the report, but a story from earlier this week revealed that the Bundesliga behemoths value their exciting attacker at around £21m.

It could be a complicated transfer to get done ahead of the Villans, but given the reasonable price and Malen’s ability, it is one well worth fighting for, especially as he could come in as an upgrade on Son.

How Malen compares to Son

Okay, so the first thing that has to be said is that, given the incredible talent and natural ability that Son possesses, fans should not expect Malen to come in and reach the same heady heights he did a few years ago – that would simply be unfair on the Dortmund man as few players are capable of that.

However, while Son is still able to chip in with goals and assists here and there, age catches up with us all, and as most fans would likely attest, he has struggled to have the same overall impact on games that he used to.

This is where the former Arsenal academy gem could come in and, as his underlying numbers since the start of last season show, be an instant upgrade for Postecoglou’s side.

According to FBref, the “extremely fast and very dangerous” Dutchman, as dubbed by former Dortmund midfielder Mario Götze, comes out on top in the majority of relevant metrics.

For example, he scores more non-penalty goals, takes more shots and shots on target, completes more crosses and carries into the penalty area, and completes more successful take-ons and more, all per 90.

On top of being more of an all-round threat, the 26-year-old also comes out on top when it comes to their defensive statistics, as he makes more blocks and clearances, makes fewer errors which lead to a shot, completes more ball recoveries and wins more aerial duels, also all per 90.

Ultimately, Son is unquestionably a Spurs and Premier League legend, but he is set to turn 33 this year, and while he can still be a useful player to have in the squad, he simply cannot be a regular starter in Postecoglou’s system.

Therefore, Levy and Co must act fast to secure Malen’s services before Villa do.