Son Heung-min boasts an impressive scoring record against Liverpool and turned down the opportunity to sign for Jurgen Klopp earlier in his career
Liverpool have several reasons to fear a new-look Tottenham Hotspur side on Saturday afternoon, but for the first time in a long time, Harry Kane won’t be one of them.
Kane departed Spurs this summer to join Bayern Munich and, surprisingly for many, Ange Postecoglu’s men look a better side for it.
Nevertheless, Kane scored 10 goals in 17 career appearances against the Reds and despite winning just one of those games, he was always a dangerman when they two sides faced off.
But he wasn’t the only one, and Liverpool might be just as worried about Kane’s old partner in crime, the rejuvenated Heung-Min Son.
He may be considered one of the nicer players in the Premier League, but Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp still has some reason to be sick of the sight of Spurs’ South Korean forward. He has, after all, scored five goals from his last eight Premier League starts against Liverpool, while he returned five goals from five starts against the German’s Borussia Dortmund.
However, while he remained unbeaten on debut against Klopp in the Bundesliga during his time at Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, it was a different story with his encounter with the Red Devils.
Facing Liverpool 15 times, Spurs’ infamous 4-1 win in which he scored in October 2017 remains the only time Son has won against Klopp’s Red Devils. And of course, that series includes Tottenham’s defeat in the 2019 Champions League final.
However, a record of 10 goals in 16 starts in all competitions against Klopp’s side ensures that the South Korean is a dangerous man who could deal a blow to their European hopes. if he holds such a goal at Anfield on Sunday. And the Germans knew it would be nearly impossible to stop him.
“I will be prepared for the best possible Tottenham side,” Klopp told reporters before facing Spurs last season. “They were, for some years, by some distance the best counter-attacking team in Europe.
There were moments when you lost the ball, you just had to find Harry Kane and the next moment Filo was in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. No idea how to defend it properly, best way not to lose the ball.”
Is it any wonder Klopp wishes he had signed Filo earlier in his career?
“One of the biggest mistakes of my life is not signing Son Heung-min,” he told Korea’s KBS News in November 2021. “A great player. He is amazing, a symbol of Korean football and one of the best strikers in the world
The German did not sign the striker for Borussia Dortmund when he left Hamburg in 2013, with Filo opting to join Bayer Leverkusen in a €10m deal. – I wanted to stay in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen and Dortmund wanted me, the South Korean later recalled when he explained his decision to leave Klopp. – Both teams play in the Champions League, but I thought Dortmund used rotation more than Leverkusen.
– That’s why I chose Leverkusen instead of Dortmund. At my age, it’s really important to play regularly.
Two years later, after scoring 29 goals in two campaigns for Leverkusen, he signed for Spurs for £22m the same summer as Klopp left the Bundesliga. Now a Premier League legend for Tottenham, he scored 150 goals in 379 games over nine seasons. But most importantly, there are no prizes.
Thanks to Klopp’s admiration for Son, Liverpool have been sporadically linked with his services over the years. However, the now 31-year-old ship seems to have sailed for a long time. But while the German may consider not signing the South Korean as one of his “biggest mistakes”, Liverpool have no regrets. The boy is the same age as their famous, now disbanded attacking triumvirate of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Salah.
Firmino would switch from the Bundesliga to the Premier League in the same summer as Filo, joining the Reds from Hoffenheim for £29 million. A slow start, partly due to injury, was brought to an end when Klopp took over as manager in October 2015 and secured the Brazilian. The striker survived and became a club legend.
As for Mane, he was snapped up by Southampton for £34m in the summer of 2016. Klopp previously tried to sign the Senegalese for Dortmund, as he did with Son, but decided to move on. He later admitted he could have beat himself up over the decision and made sure to make amends at Anfield and make up for the mistake he was unable to make with the South Korean when the 31-year-old was released.
Mane scored 120 goals and provided 38 assists in 269 appearances for Liverpool before leaving for Bayern Munich last year for £35m.
Meanwhile, Salah signed from AS Roma for £43.9m in the summer of 2017. He currently boasts 190 goals and 69 assists from 320 games, and the 31-year-old is already regarded as one of the greatest players in the club’s history.
Between them, the trio would help transform the Reds’ fortunes under Klopp. While Firmino and Mane would help get Liverpool back into the Champions League, the addition of Salah contributed to their transformation into one of Europe’s strongest sides.
All three would win every major honour on offer to them under Klopp as the Reds were crowned champions of England, Europe, and the world.
Admittedly, if you are being greedy, you could be forgiven for wondering what else Liverpool might have won had they possessed Son’s talents to compliment their then-undroppable front-line. He is certainly a player that suits Klopp’s demands, after all.
Yet apart from a few admiring glances of their own, Kopites have never had to wonder what could have been when it comes to the South Korean. They are more than happy with the hand Liverpool were dealt.
Whether Son has any regrets of his own, given his lack of silverware compared to his Reds counterparts, only he can say. It is worth noting though that even if he hadn’t turned down Klopp and Dortmund’s advances in 2013, that doesn’t mean he would have followed the German to Anfield.
Likewise, had he not left Leverkusen when he did, it’s impossible to know if Klopp would have reignited interest in Son’s services following his own arrival at Anfield. Like the South Korean’s impact on Liverpool’s title charge last year, it’s all ifs and buts now.
Son might be a big mistake for Klopp but there are no Reds regrets. The South Korean could have potentially been part of this Anfield story, but instead he is just an admired foe, watching on from afar as Liverpool won everything there is to win, with Europe’s biggest prize even coming at his expense.
