LONDON: At least one star forward wants to stay at Tottenham.
Son Heung-min signed a four-year contract extension Friday to keep him at the Premier League club through June 2025.
Harry Kane’s future is another question. He’s under contract with the north London team until 2024 but has indicated he wants a change of scenery.
Not so for South Korea captain Son.
“It was already a big honor to play here for six years,” he said in a team statement. “The club have showed me massive, massive respect and obviously I’m very happy to be here.”
The 29-year-old Son has compiled 107 goals and 64 assists in 280 appearances in all competitions since joining Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen in August 2015.
“It’s like home, especially with the fans, the players, the staff,” Son said. “There was no decision. It was easy. I’m so happy to be here and will be so glad to see the fans again soon.”
No financial details were given.
Tottenham tweeted: “He’s here to stay.”
“Everyone can see the real positive impact he has on the club, both on and off the field, and we are delighted that he will play a part in what we are trying to achieve in the coming years,” football managing director Fabio Paratici said.
With Son’s future seemingly set, new manager Nuno Espirito Santo can now turn his attention to Kane. Last week, Nuno affirmed that he expects Kane to return.
After Tottenham’s seventh-place finish in the Premier League left it out of the Champions League, Kane indicated he wants out. The England and Tottenham captain was frustrated with the direction of the team and lack of trophies.
Son told club media that he’s ready to shoulder the responsibility of winning trophies.
“I want to win something with Tottenham,” he said. “This is my aim and this is also the fans’ aim. This is a massive club — big opportunity. I want to be part of this, I want to take a big responsibility of this. That’s what I signed for.”
Kane and Son in 2020-21 set the single-season Premier League record for combining on goals. The pair assisted one another on 14 goals, one better than Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton from the 1994-95 season with Blackburn.
Son has scored 27 goals in 93 appearances for South Korea, including a total of three goals at two World Cups.
Tottenham hosts Premier League champion Manchester City for its season opener on Aug. 15. The only European involvement for Tottenham this season will be in the less lucrative and new third-tier Europa Conference League.
Son extends contract at Tottenham, calls it ‘easy’ decision
https://arab.news/7cmbf
Son extends contract at Tottenham, calls it ‘easy’ decision
- Son Heung-min signed a four-year contract extension to keep him at the Premier League club through June 2025
- Son, 29, has compiled 107 goals and 64 assists in 280 appearances in all competitions
Osimhen, Nigeria seek harmony with Algeria up next at AFCON
- Wins against Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda in the group stage were followed by a 4-0 demolition of Mozambique
- “The team is improving every single game,” said Lookman
RABAT: Led by Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, Nigeria’s form at the Africa Cup of Nations has offered cause for optimism ahead of Saturday’s heavyweight quarter-final against Algeria despite reports of unrest in the squad.
The Super Eagles arrived in Marrakech for the last-eight tie as the top scorers at the tournament with 12 goals in their four games so far.
Wins against Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda in the group stage were followed by a 4-0 demolition of Mozambique in Fes in the last 16, the biggest victory for anyone in an AFCON knockout tie since 2010.
Osimhen and Lookman, winners of the African player of the year prize in 2023 and 2024 respectively, have played starring roles with three goals each as Nigeria target Cup of Nations success as a tonic for their World Cup woes.
“The team is improving every single game,” said Lookman, who has also set up four goals at the tournament, after the Mozambique victory.
Nigeria have started strongly despite the team returning to Morocco reeling in the wake of their failure to qualify for the World Cup.
Having only just sneaked into the play-offs for the tournament in North America, the Super Eagles saw their hopes ended in a penalty shoot-out loss to the Democratic Republic of Congo in Rabat in November.
They will therefore miss a second consecutive World Cup having appeared at six of the previous seven competitions.
That represents a fiasco for a football-mad nation with by far the largest population on the continent, but the Cup of Nations has a tendency to throw up unexpected success stories.
Ivory Coast’s incredible revival at the last AFCON two years ago, when they were on the brink of elimination in the group stage as hosts before coming back to win the trophy with victory against Nigeria in the final, is the perfect example.
- Bust-ups and bonuses -
Of the nine African nations who qualified directly for this year’s World Cup, Ghana and Cape Verde failed to make it to Morocco for the Cup of Nations.
Nigeria, meanwhile, are hoping to claim a fourth continental crown to soothe their disappointment at not being among the teams bound for the United States, Canada and Mexico.
This week marks a year since Eric Chelle, a former Mali player and coach, took over the Super Eagles but all he can do is try to keep his focus on Algeria amid much off-field noise.
Lookman had to play down suggestions of a bust-up with Osimhen in the last-16 win, when the latter appeared angry at his teammate for not giving him the ball.
The Galatasaray striker was then substituted and took no part in victory celebrations on the pitch with his teammates at the end of the game.
Atalanta forward Lookman later told journalists: “He’s our number one guy, everyone knows this. Top striker, top player, the rest is not really important.”
Chelle must hope harmony is restored for the game against Algeria, a repeat of the 2019 AFCON semifinal which the Super Eagles lost 2-1 in Cairo to a late Riyad Mahrez goal.
However, preparations for the showdown have been overshadowed by reports of a dispute over bonuses, with multiple sources in recent days saying the team had not been paid money promised following their first four matches.
That led to talk of a training boycott, but reports on Thursday said the issue had been resolved, with Nigeria Football Federation president Ibrahim Musa Gusau telling ESPN that “payments had been processed.”
A Nigeria team spokesperson confirmed to AFP that the squad was training as planned in Marrakech, as Chelle and his players eye a place in the semifinals.
