Werner Watch Out: Spurs may have Son successor in 20yr Old with a bright future

In the sixth minute of stoppage time, summer addition Brennan Johnson scored at the back post to give Tottenham Hotspur a thrilling victory against Brighton & Hove Albion, preserving their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.

Heung-min Son, the captain of the South Korean national team, made a welcome return to the field with that important win. The top player had been sidelined during the Asian Cup in Qatar.

Spurs have played well without the 31-year-old, but the north Londoners are clearly a superior team when he is there, as shown by the fact that Son set up Johnson for the game’s winning goal.

With 12 Premier League goals this season, the former Bayer Leverkusen player is leading his team and has finally emerged from Harry Kane’s shadow. His most recent contribution also means that he now has six assists in the top division.

With little over a year remaining on his current contract, the striker’s devastating form has once again highlighted how fortunate the club is to have him on its books. It will probably just be a matter of when, not if, the forward signs a new contract.

Given Son’s ongoing heroics, there’s no need to consider replacing the £190k-per-week marksman just yet, but Ange Postecoglou and company may want to consider having a succession plan in place in case Son decides to go or starts to lose form.

Potential Son replacements at Spurs

Timo Werner, a January transfer from Chelsea, took up the former Hamburg player’s left-wing position while he was away on international service. Werner has started well for the team, recording two assists in his first four league games.

Unless anything goes horribly wrong over the next few months, it seems like Postecoglou will be using the 27-year-old in his plans for the next few years, as Spurs have the option to make the German’s loan signing permanent for under £15 million this summer.

It remains to be seen, however, whether the Leipzig player is good enough to finally take Sons’ place permanently. The Lilywhites will probably be cautious after his miserable two-season tenure at Stamford Bridge, during which he managed only 10 goals in the league.

Postecoglou may need to look elsewhere for a worthy replacement for Son, as options like Manor Solomon have been hindered by injuries and both Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson often feature off the right flank.

Future transfer windows may undoubtedly help in that endeavor, but there may also be an opportunity to look closer to home, as academy star Yago Santiago seems to deserve a chance to make an impression at first team level soon.

Yago Santiago’s styles of play

The 2019 arrival from his hometown club in England, the former Celta Vigo junior star, has played a range of offensive positions in his time in north London, but this season he has been most effective off the left side.

The 20-year-old has been referred to as the “total footballer” in recent Spanish media. The Galicia Press claims that, after being benched in both the Premier League and FA Cup this season, he is coming “closer and closer” to make his professional debut under Postecoglou.

Santiago may follow England’s young star Jamie Donley, who has made an impression on the club’s U23 squad with 15 goals and eight assists in 63 games. Donley is an academy teammate who has already had a few quick cameos in the senior lineup.

A smooth Spaniard with a “really bright future” at the club, according to Tottenham announcer Matt Tarr, he has garnered positive comments throughout the last few seasons. Superhotspur has praised him for being “so composed” and “effortless with the ball at his feet.”

The same source claims that the talented wide player, who trained with the first team under Antonio Conte’s leadership, has impressed especially with “his pace and running in behind the defence,” which could help him blend in well with Postecoglou’s style.

The stats from Yago Santiago’s season
As he approaches the starting lineup, Santiago is making every effort to get the attention of the former Celtic manager due to his impressive youth accomplishments, as he finished 2023–24 with six goals and four assists in only nine Premier League 2 games.

Son, a right-footer who likes to cut in from the left, also drew attention in this season’s EFL Trophy when he played the whole 90 minutes against Peterborough and Colchester United, senior competition.

The future Spurs player impressed even though he did not score in those two games. He averaged three vital passes per game, which is a sign of his creative ability. In the top division, Son, on the other hand, averaged only 1.8 in that category across 21 games.

Santiago also stands out for his “excellent” effort rate, as reported by superhotspur. Throughout the tournament, he averaged 2.5 interceptions, two tackles, and seven balls retrieved each game.

The rising star seems to have it all, and with two successful dribbles each game under his credit, it should not be too long until this young gem can shine in the senior ranks.

Though there may still be a long way to go before he can compete with players like Werner and Son, all the indications point to a player who fans would want to see develop into the South Korean’s ideal successor.

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