Son Heung-min (Tottenham) is looking to win his fourth career English Premier League (EPL) Player of the Month award. Of the seven nominees, Heung-min had the best team and individual performances in September, so there’s virtually no real competition. If he wins the award, he will join the likes of Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard as EPL legends.
The EPL Secretariat announced the seven nominees for the September EPL Player of the Month award on Friday, including Son Heung-min. Joining Son on the list are Julian Alvarez (Manchester City), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), and Olly Watkins (Aston Villa). EPL scoring leader Elling Holland (Man City), who was initially considered for the honor, was not named.
Son scored six goals in the month of September, starting all four games. He scored a hat trick against Burnley, a multi-goal game against Arsenal, and a single goal against Liverpool. Sheffield United was his only scoreless game, and he found the back of the net in the other three.
Since moving to a frontline role as a left-sided striker, his firepower has been on fire. He rattled the net three times against Burnley on March 2, scoring his first hat trick of the season. ‘Nail’ Son has put to rest any misgivings about Tottenham’s frontline after the departure of Harry Kane (Bayern Munich).
After catching his breath in Sheffield, Son Heung-min returned with a multi-goal performance in the North London derby against Arsenal. Time and time again, he scored the equalizer that saved his team when they were down a goal. He also broke a number of records on the day. He became the first player to score multiple goals in a North London derby at the Emirates Stadium and the first Tottenham player to score multiple goals away from home in a North London derby in 30 years, regardless of the venue.
Son’s form continued in the final game of September against Liverpool. He rattled the net after deflecting a pass from Philippe Coutinho. His goal set the stage for Tottenham’s 2-1 victory. He went on to reach the 200-goal milestone in Europe.
Of the seven nominees, no player has scored more goals or accumulated more offensive points than Son. Watkins has four goals and one assist, but he has fewer goals and fewer attacking points than Son. The rest of the players all have four or fewer offensive points.
Of the seven candidates here, Son is the only one with an “unbeaten” September record for his club. In September, when Son was on fire, Tottenham won three games and drew one. Aston Villa with Watkins, EPL leaders Man City with Alvarez, and Liverpool with Salah all had three wins and one loss. It’s hard to overstate how unbeatable these players are, not only in terms of their individual records, but also in terms of their team performance.
According to the EPL Secretariat, “Tottenham captain Son Heung-min has excelled in his new role as a frontline striker since September. His six goals helped Tottenham remain unbeaten and finish September in second place, one point behind leaders Manchester City.” Both Son’s personal record and Tottenham’s team performance were highlighted.
Local accolades are also coming in. “Son is entering a new phase of his career as an ‘elite center forward’ under manager Ange Postecoglou,” wrote the London Evening Standard, “He has become a lethal attacker with his ability to press from the front, his reading of the game and his incredible finishing ability.” The article went on to say that he is the EPL’s top scorer.
They even went so far as to suggest he could repeat as EPL top scorer. “If last season was about Kane challenging Holland for the EPL top scorer title, this season it’s about Son Heung-min, who has scored six goals in just four first-team starts,” the publication said, noting that Son was joint top scorer in the EPL with Salah before Holland came to the league. Heung-min was the EPL’s top scorer last season with 23 goals in 2021-22.
The winner of the EPL Player of the Month award will be revealed next week based on a combination of fan and expert panel votes. If Son wins his fourth career Player of the Month award, he will achieve a feat that only 15 players have ever accomplished: winning four consecutive Player of the Month awards. He would join the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Lampard, Paul Scholes, and Salah.
He will also challenge the records of five-time winners Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, and six-time winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard. The all-time leaders in the category are 스포츠토토 Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane, who have won the award seven times. Given Son’s form in September, and the likelihood that he will continue to play in a frontline striker role in the future, it’s not hard to see him winning the award.
Son won his first EPL Player of the Month award in September 2016 for a four-goal, one-assist performance, and then won his second and third awards in April 2017 for five goals and one assist and October 2020 for four goals and two assists, respectively. Given his most goals and best team performance, a fourth career Player of the Month award is more likely than ever.