da doce： According to reports from BILD, Wolfsburg are still interested in signing Tottenham Hotspur winger Heung-min Son – but the Premier League club want £33.5million (€40million).
What’s the word?
da lvbet： Wolfsburg were strongly linked with the South Korea international during the final days of the summer transfer window, with Sky Sports (via Sky Germany) reporting on their interest and The Daily Mail alleging a formal bid worth £24million was made.
That appears to be corroborated, to some extent, by Bild, who reveal Die Wolfe ‘supposedly’ launched a £27million bid to sign the 24-year-old – presumably during the final stages of the summer window.
Always keen to make a profit, however, Spurs want £33.5million for Son, which is around an £11million increase on the fee they paid Bayer Leverkusen for the Asian attacker in summer 2015. Wolfsburg remain keen but want the price to drop.
Why would Spurs sell after just one full season?
Despite the fanfare surrounding his arrival, Son didn’t exactly hit the ground running in the Premier League. Injuries were a factor but rather tellingly, he became an increasingly peripheral figure as the Lilywhites moved closer to (but inevitably missed out on) the Premier League title. As you can see below, the former Bundesliga man never really came close to rivalling Mauricio Pochettino’s other attacking midfield options:
So, is he worth £33.5million?
In theory, absolutely not. Spurs admittedly hold all the cards with Son’s contract not due to expire for another four years, but are they really suggesting the South Korean’s value has gone up by sitting on the bench for the last 12 months? It just doesn’t make sense.
But nobody said the transfer market is a rational place. It works on supply and demand and the level of inflation is quite incredible. In summer 2015, the average Bundesliga club spent £18.3million; in the transfer window just passed, it jumped up to £25.5million – staggering when the variation between clubs at the top and bottom of the league is taken into account as well.
That being said, the Bundesiga’s all-time record signing remains Javi Martinez, who cost €40million in summer 2012. Are Wolfsburg – a club who finished 8th last season – really about to match that for a player who spent last season on the bench? It seems unlikely.
Make your mind up!
But we’re going to let you make your mind up on whether Spurs’ asking price is a reasonable one. Below is a video of Son in action, followed by a quick poll. Enjoy!
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