Son Heung-min’s Future in Jeopardy: Potential Move to PSG Amid Tottenham’s Champions League Struggles

Tottenham captain Son Heung-min. AFP = Yonhap News

There is a local report that Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham) is likely to move to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG, France). If Tottenham fail to qualify for the UEFA Champions League (UCL) next season, it is expected that Tottenham will also open the door for Son Heung-min to move to PSG.

British media Team Talk said on the 16th (Korean time), “The prestigious French club PSG has been very interested in recruiting Son Heung-min for a long time, and has already made plans to sign Son Heung-min.” Hire Heung-min,” and added, “Tottenham in this case, there is also a possibility that Tottenham will sell Son Heung-min to PSG next summer.

It is explained in the same context that Tottenham, whose contract with Son Heung-min is due to expire next summer, is not renewing his long-term contract but is instead trying to exercise a ‘one-year extension option’. According to Telegraph and British transfer daily Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham are planning to exercise their one-year extension option soon and extend Son Heung-min’s contract by one year until June 2026. However, there have been reports that Son Heung-min has been told that there are no plans to consider a long-term contract renewal beyond two years.

If Tottenham do not exercise the option to extend his contract by one year, Son Heung-min will leave the team as a free agent next summer. In this case, Tottenham cannot benefit from the transfer fee when he moves to another club, such as PSG or Saudi Arabia, who have received constant calls of love. However, if the contract period is extended to June 2026 through a one-year extension, it is inevitable that there will be a transfer fee if Son Heung-min leaves for a new team next summer.

Tottenham Son Heung-min tries to dribble in the 11th round of 2024-25 EPL against Ipswich held at Tottenham Hotspur stadium on the 10th. On this day, he made his first full-time league appearance in two months, but the team’s defeat dimmed the limelight. Photo = Tottenham NHS

Just by not proposing a long-term contract renewal for Son Heung-min, who has been a key player for Tottenham for a long time, the Tottenham club has already indirectly indicated that there are no plans to continue working with Son Heung-min. Meanwhile, local analysis is that if the team fails to progress to the UCL next season, they intend to part with Son Heung-min and earn a profit from the transfer fee.

Currently, Tottenham are ranked 10th out of 20 teams in the 2024-25 English Premier League (EPL), making it difficult to compete for a place in the UCL next season. To progress to the UCL, you have to be in the top 4 of the EPL, but the competition is so tough. If promotion to the UCL is necessary for Son Heung-min and Tottenham to play together in the 2025-26 season, the possibility is not high, at least at this stage. Coincidentally, PSG, where Lee Kang-in plays, is also in a situation where there are constant requests to strengthen the offensive line before and after the transfer of Kylian Mbappe.

Team Talk reported, “It is known that Tottenham have informed Son Heung-min that they do not intend to consider a long-term contract renewal beyond the one-year option,” and “As of now, a season could 2025-26 to be. the last season in which Son Heung-min will wear the Tottenham uniform. “This could be the end of his Tottenham career, 11 years after establishing himself as Tottenham’s greatest ever player. At the same time, the media predicts that Tottenham’s participation in the UCL could accelerate the departure of Son Heung-min.

Reporter Kim Myeong-seok [email protected]