Former Premier League defender Steve Brown does not believe Son Heung-min is the type of player to cause problems if he is left out of the Tottenham team for a couple of matches.
Son, who shared the Premier League’s Golden Boot with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah last season, has struggled for form at times this term.
The South Korea forward was left out of the starting line-up for Sunday’s home game with West Ham, but came off the bench to score his fifth Premier League goal of the season in a 2-0 win.
Ex-Charlton player Brown said: “I don’t get the sort of feeling that Son is the sort of guy that’s going to be miserable if he’s left out for a game or two. He’ll understand the situation and wait patiently for his opportunity.
“Richarlison needs games I think, so in terms of why he started, I think that’s a big factor.
“Whether he starts or comes off the bench, he [Son] is a good player. Good players will always bounce back when they have a batch of bad form.”
Tottenham are now in the top four after Newcastle’s loss at home to Liverpool, and there are echoes of last season as Spurs bid for Champions League qualification.
“By Spurs’ own admission, they haven’t been on top form,” said BBC Radio London sports editor Phil Parry on the latest episode of The Far Post podcast.
“Ben Davies said it after the game, he thinks they could have got a lot more points out of games this season, and yet they’re fourth in the table.
“Going to that [West Ham] game, they had the same number of points after 23 games this season as they did last season. They picked off Arsenal last season, is it Newcastle they’re picking off in this one?”
(BBC Sport)
