Three goals and two assists

EPL selects Son Heung-min among the seven nominees for the ‘Player of the Month’ award in March
Son Heung-min will try to win the 5th Player of the Month award in his career

Can “captain” Son Heung-min 31, who set a milestone for Tottenham’s first 400 non-European games, set another legendary record.

Son Heung-min, who has been playing for Tottenham Hotspur in England’s professional football for nine years, has been nominated for the second English Premier League EPL “Player of the Month” award and his fifth career player of the month award in the 2023-2024 season.

The EPL secretariat released on its official website on Thursday seven players for the 2023-2024 season. Son, who had three goals and two assists in the league in March alone, will be competing with Alexander Isak Newcastle United, Alexis McAllister Liverpool, Rodrigo Munis Fullum, Cole Palmer Chelsea, Antoine Semeno Bonmouth and Ben White Arnall.

If Son achieves his fifth career win by winning the Player of the Month award in March 2024, he will be in the same ranks as legendary players such as Wayne Rooney, Robin Persie, and Mohamed Salah. He is of course the first Asian player to do so.

Son Heung-min played full-time for 90 minutes in the London derby for the 31st round of the EPL against West Ham on Thursday, setting a new record of 400 appearances for Tottenham. This marks the 14th time in Tottenham’s history since its establishment in 1882 and the first non-European player to join the club. The most prolific player was Steve Perryman 854 matches, who played for Tottenham from 1969 to 1986.

Son Heung-min is having his best season this season, comparable to the 2021-2022 season, when he became the first Asian player to score with 15 goals and eight assists in the league. He is leading Tottenham’s rise by wearing the “captain” armband for the first time since the appointment of Angel Postecoglou, and has already been nominated for the “Player of the Month” award three times.

In September last year, Son was nominated for the award for the first time in this season and won the award. He was nominated for the award again in December, but failed to win the award due to his competition with Dominic Solanke of Bournemouth. This March, Son’s player of the month candidate is the third to symbolically show Son’s consistent performance.

In particular, Son Heung-min suffered from internal strife after being eliminated from the semifinals of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation AFC Asian Cup, but showed his willingness to overcome adversity and performed well at the national team and Tottenham in March, impressing soccer fans around the world.

Players who are expected to have fierce competition with Son are Isaac and Palmer. Isaac led Newcastle, an injury ward, and recorded four goals and one assist in March alone. Palmer is keeping Chelsea’s pride by scoring four goals and one assist. Sémeno of Bournemouth and Munis of Fulham are also among the candidates to be considered, drawing keen attention to whether Son will win the award or not.

In September 2016, the second year of his transfer to Tottenham, Son was nominated for the first player of the month award and was honored. He became the first Asian player to receive the EPL Player of the Month award, marking a page in history. Since then, he won the EPL Player of the Month award in April 2017 and October 2020, respectively, and in September last year, he scored six goals in four games, earning his fourth career win.

Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane have won the most player of the month awards seven times. They are followed by Steven Gerrard, Cristiano Ronaldo six times, Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, and Muhammad Salah five times.

Meanwhile, Tottenham manager Postecoglou, along with Son Heung-min, was named as a four-man candidate for “Coach of the Month” in March along with Arsenal’s Arteta and Liverpool’s Klopp. 토토사이트 순위