Stats reveal how Son Heung-min’s positioning and role have changed dramatically this season

Son Heung-min is currently having the best season of his career and his performances appear to have gone up another notch since the arrival of Jose Mourinho.

The forward has registered eleven goals and five assists already in all competitions, with only around a quarter of the season gone (transfermarket.com).

A report from The Athletic has dug into the numbers behind how Son’s game has evolved over the years and the modifications Mourinho has made to the South Korean’s positioning since he arrived.

The stats reveal that Son is now taking fewer touches per game than any season before and spending far less time on the flanks than in any of his previous seasons at Spurs.

The 28-year-old is now taking only 44 touches per game, in comparison to 55.5, 55.1, 56 and 57.7 in his first four seasons at the club.

His average positioning and time spent in different areas of the pitch show that he now plays more as an inside-forward/No 9 hybrid.

Son is also doing much less defensive work than his previous seasons, while his ball carrying and dribbling numbers are also way down.

Meanwhile, while his progressive passes have gone up, while shot volume as remained largely the same (despite taking few touches, which indicates that he is shooting more often).

Spurs Web Opinion

One of the main accusations made against Jose Mourinho last season was that he is not the man to get the best out of our attacking talent. He has well and truly proved that wrong with the modifications he has made to Son’s and Kane’s games. Both players are now arguably having the best season of their careers to date.

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