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Ian Graham has revealed just how close Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side came to landing a Tottenham legend in 2015, in what is one of the biggest what-ifs in modern Premier League history.
It has been a season of change at Tottenham Hotspur, who have not only been making alterations off the pitch, but on it too.
On the pitch, Spurs have sanctioned several departures, while also completing the signing of six players, as Thomas Frank looks to compete on several fronts.
One of the most notable departures this summer was the sale of former captain Heung-min Son, who left N17 after a decade-long stay, following his Europa League triumph last season.
Ian Graham reveals Liverpool’s pursuit of Heung-min Son
Heung-min Son is synonymous with Tottenham and is a legend of the club, but the club legend is now with MLS side LAFC, having joined them for £20m.
With the Korean star having now departed N17, former Liverpool director of research Ian Graham has opened up on just how close the Reds came to signing the former Spurs captain before his switch to Tottenham in 2015.
Speaking on the Men in Blazers YouTube channel, Graham admitted that the South Korean forward was right at the top of their shortlist alongside Roberto Firmino.
Graham explained: “Heung-min Son, one of my favourite players, in an alternative timeline, Son and Firmino would be Liverpool’s frontline – you know the old match and align transfer committee, our one and two choices were Firmino and Son for our two strikers. But Son was cruelly sent to Spurs, and we got Christian Benteke instead.”
He went further, making it clear just how highly he rated Son’s ability in front of goal, adding: “Different style of player, which is fine, you know the manager wanted that style of player at the time.
“But Son is, along with Messi, one of the best finishers, and it took us two years to increase his shot placement skill by 10%. And we took another two years to increase it by another 20%.
“So, like the best finisher because it is such a noisy process and so few players can consistently do it, it took us a long time to upgrade him. And even, you know, being the best in the world, he is kind of 20-30% better at placing those shots.”
Heung-min Son’s legacy at Tottenham and in the Premier League
Heung-min Son is a Tottenham legend and a Premier League legend as well, with the Korean star bagging in loads of goals during his 10-year stay in England.
Son notched 127 goals and 77 assists in 333 outings for Tottenham and scored goals against so many teams he came up against, including Liverpool.
Against the Reds, Son had an impressive record, scoring seven goals and assisting once in 16 appearances against them, highlighting just how much of a threat he was and why Liverpool would be left in the biggest what-if.
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