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Heung-Min Son is one of the best finishers in world football 

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The Spurs captain is unique. 

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

Let me expand on what I mean by that. Most of the time, the reliable goalscorers across Europe often rely on volume. For example, on a per 90 basis, Harry Kane was averaging four shots for Spurs, Erling Haaland is having four efforts since his switch to Manchester City, Lionel Messi regularly averaged over five shots for Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski was at around 4.5 during his time with Bayern Munich, Cristiano Ronaldo averaged over six efforts for Real Madrid and Juventus while Mohamed Salah averages between 3.5 and 4.5 attempts for Liverpool since his move to Merseyside. 

By comparison, since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, Son has averaged just 2.45 shots per 90. During that time though, he has 58 Premier League goals to his name as well as a Golden Boot. 

The 31-year-old has 111 goals in 281 games in the English top flight and 153 goals in 386 matches across all competitions since he moved to Spurs in 2015. He is just the sixth player in the club’s history to score 150 goals. 

The Spurs No. 7 was made club skipper in the summer and has replaced Harry Kane as the talisman of the team. Ange Postecoglou has used him in more of a central role this term and he’s responded with eight goals in just 13 appearances. 

Postecoglou is famed for his innovative tactics and his positive approach but his shrewdest decision this season might be turning Son into a full-time centre-forward. Why is that? As mentioned at the top of this piece, the South Korea international is elite as a finisher. Getting him into more dangerous areas on a regular basis is only going to be a positive for Spurs. His performances as the main man in attack earned him the September Player of the Month award. 

What makes Son such a ruthless finisher though? And what differentiates him from other attackers plying their trade today?

His 58 goals since 2020/21 have come from an Expected Goals total of just 41.08. That is a significant overperformance. For other players, you would say this just wasn’t sustainable, but Son has proven over the years that he is capable of this, time and time again. 

Simply put, the one-time Bayer Leverkusen man is clinical and we get a perfect picture of this when looking at FotMob’s new season shot maps.

Son hits the corners. It sounds fairly straightforward but you would be amazed at how often attackers, those considered to be reliable goalscorers, just look to get their efforts on target. Hitting the corner is a bonus, their primary objective is to ensure they work the goalkeeper. For Son, however, that just isn’t the case. 

He aims for the corners. Top and bottom. It means he is adding value to his efforts and this is evident when looking at his Expected Goals on Target numbers. For the 2020/21 campaign, his xG total was 9.84 but his xG on Target total was 13.72. While there is still an overperformance, it drops massively from the 7.26 it was to just 3.28. 

The same thing happened during his Golden Boot-winning campaign. Initially, there is an overperformance of 6.61 but when xG on Target is factored in, this drops to 4.43. Again, you can see that the Spurs No. 7 avoids the centre of the goal and instead looks to hit the corners with his attempts. There’s real thought going into his placement. 

Last year was a little different. Son finished with just 10 Premier League goals and he was par with his xG. However, when looking at xG on Target, you see he was actually unlucky.

The 31-year-old had an xG on Target total of 11.57, meaning he was adding value to his efforts with his placement but these attempts just weren’t going in. The shot map backs up this theory too, showing a lot of shots hitting the corners. 

Things are looking a little more back to normal this term. He’s on eight for the season from an xG of 4.74 with an xG on Target total of 6.71. He’s hitting the corners and he’s back amongst the goals. 

Son’s shot placement has seen him reduce an overperformance of 17 over the past three and a bit seasons to just 7.43. And this is what makes him unique. He makes the most of the limited chances he has, and he’s been doing it for years. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the Premier League live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Heung-Min Son is one of the best finishers in world football 

The Spurs captain is unique. 

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

Let me expand on what I mean by that. Most of the time, the reliable goalscorers across Europe often rely on volume. For example, on a per 90 basis, Harry Kane was averaging four shots for Spurs, Erling Haaland is having four efforts since his switch to Manchester City, Lionel Messi regularly averaged over five shots for Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski was at around 4.5 during his time with Bayern Munich, Cristiano Ronaldo averaged over six efforts for Real Madrid and Juventus while Mohamed Salah averages between 3.5 and 4.5 attempts for Liverpool since his move to Merseyside. 

By comparison, since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, Son has averaged just 2.45 shots per 90. During that time though, he has 58 Premier League goals to his name as well as a Golden Boot. 

The 31-year-old has 111 goals in 281 games in the English top flight and 153 goals in 386 matches across all competitions since he moved to Spurs in 2015. He is just the sixth player in the club’s history to score 150 goals. 

The Spurs No. 7 was made club skipper in the summer and has replaced Harry Kane as the talisman of the team. Ange Postecoglou has used him in more of a central role this term and he’s responded with eight goals in just 13 appearances. 

Postecoglou is famed for his innovative tactics and his positive approach but his shrewdest decision this season might be turning Son into a full-time centre-forward. Why is that? As mentioned at the top of this piece, the South Korea international is elite as a finisher. Getting him into more dangerous areas on a regular basis is only going to be a positive for Spurs. His performances as the main man in attack earned him the September Player of the Month award. 

What makes Son such a ruthless finisher though? And what differentiates him from other attackers plying their trade today?

His 58 goals since 2020/21 have come from an Expected Goals total of just 41.08. That is a significant overperformance. For other players, you would say this just wasn’t sustainable, but Son has proven over the years that he is capable of this, time and time again. 

Simply put, the one-time Bayer Leverkusen man is clinical and we get a perfect picture of this when looking at FotMob’s new season shot maps.

Son hits the corners. It sounds fairly straightforward but you would be amazed at how often attackers, those considered to be reliable goalscorers, just look to get their efforts on target. Hitting the corner is a bonus, their primary objective is to ensure they work the goalkeeper. For Son, however, that just isn’t the case. 

He aims for the corners. Top and bottom. It means he is adding value to his efforts and this is evident when looking at his Expected Goals on Target numbers. For the 2020/21 campaign, his xG total was 9.84 but his xG on Target total was 13.72. While there is still an overperformance, it drops massively from the 7.26 it was to just 3.28. 

The same thing happened during his Golden Boot-winning campaign. Initially, there is an overperformance of 6.61 but when xG on Target is factored in, this drops to 4.43. Again, you can see that the Spurs No. 7 avoids the centre of the goal and instead looks to hit the corners with his attempts. There’s real thought going into his placement. 

Last year was a little different. Son finished with just 10 Premier League goals and he was par with his xG. However, when looking at xG on Target, you see he was actually unlucky.

The 31-year-old had an xG on Target total of 11.57, meaning he was adding value to his efforts with his placement but these attempts just weren’t going in. The shot map backs up this theory too, showing a lot of shots hitting the corners. 

Things are looking a little more back to normal this term. He’s on eight for the season from an xG of 4.74 with an xG on Target total of 6.71. He’s hitting the corners and he’s back amongst the goals. 

Son’s shot placement has seen him reduce an overperformance of 17 over the past three and a bit seasons to just 7.43. And this is what makes him unique. He makes the most of the limited chances he has, and he’s been doing it for years. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the Premier League live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage and player ratings. Download the free app here.