Ange may have unearthed Spurs’ new Son in “frightening” 8/10 sensation

And just like that, Tottenham Hotspur have one foot in the Europa League Final.

Ange Postecoglou’s side played host to Norwegian outfit FK Bodø/Glimt last night in what could have been a real banana peel sort of fixture.

However, instead of wilting under the expectation and pressure, as they have so often this season, the North Londoners showed everyone just why they were such firm favourites heading into the tie.

The Lilywhites ran out 3-1 winners, and while most of the starting lineup put in a good showing, there was one player who once again stood up and showed he could be something of a new Son Heung-min for the club.

Spurs’ top performers

Before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of Spurs’ other top performers from last night, such as Dominic Solanke.

The former Bournemouth man was under immense pressure to score his penalty in the second half, but he didn’t seem to care, as he calmly stepped up and put it away, as he did in Germany.

It wasn’t just the goal, though, as his simple presence at the tip of the attack and his tireless running was a real pain for the Norwegians’ defence.

Another Englishman who stepped up in a big way was James Maddison, who, on top of scoring the Lilywhites’ second goal, was running things from the middle of the park.

The mercurial midfielder left quite the impression on GOAL’s Sean Walsh as well, who awarded him a 9/10 match rating at full-time, writing that he delivered a ‘statement performance’ for his team.

However, there was another starter from last night who put in a strong showing, a player who can divide opinion among fans and pundits alike but is showing why he could be something of a new Son for Tottenham in the coming years.

Spurs’ new Son

So, while the likes of Pedro Porro, Richarlison and even Yves Bissouma all put in solid displays last night, none of them could be described as being remotely similar to an on-song Son.

Brennan Johnson, on the other hand, could.

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Okay, so before the torches and pitchforks come out, we are not saying that Johnson is anywhere close to being as talented as the South Korean superstar, nor do we think he’ll ever reach that near enough world-class level either.

However, and this is an important point of comparison, last night was another reminder that even when he’s not at his best, the Welshman can put the ball in the back of the net when starting out wide.

For example, before the clock had even hit a minute, the former Nottingham Forest star, who picked up an 8/10 match rating from Walsh, found himself just a few yards out when he headed it home to open the scoring and set the mood for the whole game.

Granted, he probably should have scored another at some point, but for all the derision he gets for having the odd drop in form here and there, the “frightening” winger, as dubbed by content creator HLTCO, has been an essential source of goals for Postecoglou this season.

For example, he has now scored 17 goals and provided seven assists in 47 appearances this year, totalling 3077 minutes.

In other words, the Nottingham-born star is currently averaging a goal involvement every 1.95 games or every 128.20 minutes of action.

To put that into context, Son has produced 23 goal involvements in 43 games, totalling 3062 minutes this season, which comes out to an average of one every 1.86 games, or more crucially, one every 133.08 minutes.

Finally, on top of his surprisingly impressive goal involvement per minute ratio, the 23-year-old dynamo is also comfortably the club’s top goalscorer this season, with Solanke lagging behind in second place with 14 goals to his name.

Ultimately, while Johnson is not going to reach the same levels in his all-around play that Son did in his peak, he has shown this season that he could at least replicate the South Korean’s raw output, and with potentially six games left of the season, he could hit 20 goals in all competitions.

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