Son Heung-min marks return with goal and assist (of sorts) to put Dream Team managers on notice

SON HEUNG-MIN (£5.1m) returned from injury at the weekend and marked his comeback with a 13-point haul at West Ham’s expense.

Tottenham went 1-0 down to their London rivals in Saturday’s early kick-off but stormed back to win 4-1 with their captain contributing to three of his side’s goals in one way or another during an eight-minute blitz in the second half.

Son played a smart pass to Destiny Udogie (£3.3m) who in turn set up Yves Bissouma (£2.5m) for the hosts’ second goal.

Three minutes later, it was the South Korean superstar’s shot that forced Jear-Clair Todibo (£2.5m) and Alphonse Areola (£2.4m) into an awkward mess of limbs that resulted in an own goal.

And just two minutes later, Son capped the victory with a trademark goal of his own from the left flank.

From a Dream Team perspective, the 32-year-old was perhaps slightly fortunate to be credited with a ‘fantasy assist’ by stats providers Opta for his contribution to Areola’s own goal but it could be argued he made his own luck with a bright all-round performance.

A reminder that Dream Team lock in scores relating to Opta’s data 12 hours after the final whistle for every relevant fixture – we bow to their wisdom on such matters.

The broader point is that Son’s performance should have put Dream Team managers on notice.

Naturally, his ownership plummeted when he was injured – he missed three games across Gameweeks 6 and 7 – but a 13-point haul upon his return should spark more than a few transfers.

Spurs’ long-serving No7 has scored four goals and provided three assists in eight outings this season for a return of 63 points.

His average of 7.9 points-per-game is only bettered by Erling Haaland (£8.9m), Mohamed Salah (£7.4m) and Nicolas Jackson (£4.3m) among forwards.

With the three points secured, Ange Postecoglou opted to substitute Son at the 70-minute mark on Saturday and to what extent he features against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday night remains to be seen.

But as it stands, Son has to be considered a decent option for Gameweek 9 when Spurs will take on Crystal Palace (Premier League) and Manchester City (Carabao Cup).

The Eagles are one of just four top-flight teams yet to win a league game in 2024/25 and currently find themselves 18th in the table.

Spurs have not been infallible by any means and their capitulation at Brighton before the international break will linger long in the memory but they have now won six of their last seven games in all competitions.

Plus, only Man City have scored more league goals than Postecoglou’s adventurous side at this stage.

As a proven performer, Son has to be considered an appealing option now he’s available again, especially given his side’s attack-first approach.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk