Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 8y

Son Heung-Min skips South Korea duty to battle for Tottenham place

Son Heung-Min decided to miss South Korea's World Cup qualifier against Syria on Tuesday to focus on resurrecting his Tottenham Hotspur career.

Son, 24, joined Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen for £22 million last summer -- making him the most expensive Asian player ever -- but he struggled to find form and fitness in his maiden season in England, starting just 13 Premier League games.

Son was taken off at half-time in Tottenham's 5-1 defeat at relegated Newcastle on the final day of last season and he has not featured in Spurs yet this campaign after missing the end of preseason and the first Premier League fixture on Olympic duty in Rio de Janeiro.

Spurs had no obligation to release Son for the Olympics, and South Korea have allowed the forward to miss Tuesday match in Malaysia in return.

"Tottenham are the team I wanted to join and I know that I have to work hard and play my best," Son, who starred as South Korea beat China 3-2 in the opening game of the final round of World Cup qualifying last week, said. "I am in good condition and ready to go and play as well as I can.

"I am sorry to my national teammates and coach but I will support them and hope they get a good result against Syria."

Son has had an unsettling summer after South Korea lost to Honduras in the Olympic quarterfinals, ending hopes of a medal and the chance to be exempt from South Korea's mandatory military service.

A gold medal at 2018 Asian Games could yet excuse Son from having to serve that national service for up to two years.

Olympic and under-23 head-coach Shin Tae-Yong revealed that Son "cried all day long" and "didn't even eat" after the match and, on returning to London, the 24-year-old was linked with a return to the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg in the final weeks of the summer transfer window.

"I haven't heard anything about my transfer," Son said last week. "I don't want to think about things happening outside the stadium. I just want to focus on playing football.

"It's not a good sign that transfer rumours are coming out but I think it's meaningful that those in Germany acknowledge me."

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