Is it sink or swim for Son's career?

As Heung-Min Son enters his ninth season with the Lilywhites at 32 years of age, is his time slowly coming to an end as Tottenham's talisman?

Tottenham manager Ange Postcoglou seems to be slowly easing the young blood into his main plans as he starts to fully implement his philosophy on the team as a whole. Examples of this include how heavily involved and influential in the end Brennan Johnson came to the team's plans last season, having five goals and ten assists whilst appearing thirty two times in the league, just three appearances shy of Son.

Arguably, the bigger impact this has on Tottenham is what it could mean for the selection of the squad. Should there come a time where Son is even considered to be fazed out of the squad, this could lead to once bona fide starters realising that their position on the pitch is not guaranteed, especially with young players hoping for an opportunity at first team football. Additionally, this will make young players who are on the fringes of the starting eleven or even the bench, believe that they can make their way into the starting lineup too.

This may be especially telling should Son have a dry spell during the Premier League season, which he usually does at least once per campaign. Young academy prospects could attempt to seize the moment such as Jamie Donley or Mikey Moore. Additionally, someone like Timo Werner could come into form, he could take Son's place as a main starter should that be the way that Spurs approach those dry periods.

However, Son's position is not the only one which could come under competitive scrutiny for Tottenham Hotspur.

With the signing of Romanian centre half Radu Dragusin in January, the centre-back partnership of Cristian Romero and Mickey Van De Ven now has some competition for the starting place. As well as this, there is plenty of competition for select midfield roles. With the likes of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray having just joined up with the squad this Summer, this offers competition for the positions occupied by the likes of Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr.

In theory, all of this will allow for Tottenham to only improve as players will elevate their performances and make a credible shout to be included more throughout the season. The challenge however for Postecoglou comes in picking his strongest eleven, which the Australian was still seemingly attempting to do at the very end of the 2023/2024 season.

With the inclusion of Europa League football next season, this could be a swan song to the old guard or simply the birth of a more competitive era for Tottenham Hotspur.