‘Biggest mistake of my life’ – Spurs captain turned down Jurgen Klopp transfer but Liverpool had last laugh

Gentlesoccer October 1, 2023

0 201 5 minutes read

Son Heung-min has a strong scoring record against Liverpool and earlier in his career, he declined the chance to join Jurgen Klopp’s team.

During the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Heung-Min Son of Tottenham Hotspur addresses the media following their teams’ draw.

On Saturday, Liverpool will have many reasons to dread a revamped Tottenham Hotspur team, but Harry Kane won’t be one of them for the first time in a very long time.

Ange Postecoglu’s team appears to be a better one as a result of Kane’s departure from Spurs this summer to join Bayern Munich, which surprised many.

Nevertheless, Kane scored 10 goals in 17 career matches versus the Reds, and despite his team only succeeding in one of those contests, he was always a threat whenever the two teams met.

Liverpool may be equally concerned about Kane’s former crime partner, the revitalized Heung-Min Son, as they are about the fact that he wasn’t the only one.

Even though the South Korean attacker for Spurs is one of the nicer players in the Premier League, Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp have some legitimate reasons to tire of seeing him. After all, he has scored five goals against Liverpool in his previous eight Premier League starts, and five goals in five starts versus Borussia Dortmund in Germany.

It’s a different tale when it comes to his encounters with the Reds, however he would go undefeated when starting against Klopp in the Bundesliga while he was with Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen.

Son has faced Klopp’s Reds on 15 different occasions, but the only time he has come out on top against them was in Spurs’ memorable 4-1 triumph in October 2017—a game in which he scored. Unsurprisingly, this run also includes Tottenham’s loss in the 2019 Champions League final.

The South Korean is still a danger, and if he continues his scoring streak at Anfield on Sunday, it may seriously harm Klopp’s teams’ chances of qualifying for Europe. The South Korean has scored 10 goals from 16 starts in all competitions against Klopp’s teams. The German is another

Last season, prior to playing Spurs, Klopp told reporters, “I will be prepared for the best possible Tottenham side. “They were by far the best counterattacking squad in Europe for a number of years.

Participate in the discussion

Post Your Thoughts In The Comments Section Below.
Read Each Comment in Full

When you lost the ball, all they had to do was find Harry Kane, and Son was in a one-on-one battle with the goalie the very next second. The best strategy to prevent losing the ball is to adequately defend against that.

Is it any wonder that Klopp wishes he had signed Son earlier in his career given the circumstances?

“One of the biggest mistakes in my life is not signing Son Heung-min,” he rued to Korean outlet KBS News in November 2021. “Outstanding player. He is fantastic, a sign of Korean football and one of the best strikers in the world.”

The German failed to sign the forward for Borussia Dortmund when he left Hamburg in 2013, as Son opted to join Bayer Leverkusen instead in a €10m deal.

“I wanted to stay in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen and Dortmund wanted me,” the South Korean later recalled when explaining his decision to snub Klopp. “Both teams play in the Champions League but I thought Dortmund would use rotation more than Leverkusen.

“That’s why I chose Leverkusen over Dortmund. It’s really important to play regularly at my age.”

Two years later, having scored 29 goals across two campaigns for Leverkusen, he would sign for Spurs for £22m in the same summer that Klopp left the Bundesliga. Now, a Tottenham Premier League legend, he boasts 150 goals from 379 appearances across nine seasons. But crucially, no trophies.

Given Klopp’s admiration for Son, Liverpool have sporadically been linked with his services over the years. Yet, now 31 years old, that ship seems to have long since sailed.

But while the German might consider it one of his ‘biggest mistakes’ not signing the South Korean, Liverpool will have no regrets. Son is the same age as their famous, now dismantled, attacking triumvirate of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Salah, after all.

Firmino would make his own switch from Bundesliga to Premier League the same summer as Son, joining the Reds for £29m from Hoffenheim. Enduring a slow start, partly because of injury, once Klopp took over as manager in October 2015 and inherited the Brazilian, the forward was revitalised and became a legend at the club.

As for Mane, he was snapped up from Southampton for £34m in the summer of 2016. Klopp had previously tried to sign the Senegalese for Dortmund, as he had also attempted with Son, only to decide against the switch. He would later admit he could have punched himself for such a decision, and made sure to make amends at Anfield, righting a wrong that he couldn’t with regards to the South Korean, once the 31-year-old became available.

Mane would register 120 goals and 38 assists from 269 appearances for Liverpool before leaving for Bayern Munich in a £35m switch last year.

Meanwhile, Salah signed from AS Roma for £43.9m in the summer of 2017. He currently boasts 190 goals and 69 assists from 320 games, and the 31-year-old is already regarded as one of the greatest players in the club’s history.

Between them, the trio would help transform the Reds’ fortunes under Klopp. While Firmino and Mane would help get Liverpool back into the Champions League, the addition of Salah contributed to their transformation into one of Europe’s strongest sides.

All three would win every major honour on offer to them under Klopp as the Reds were crowned champions of England, Europe, and the world.

Admittedly, if you are being greedy, you could be forgiven for wondering what else Liverpool might have won had they possessed Son’s talents to compliment their then-undroppable front-line. He is certainly a player that suits Klopp’s demands, after all.

Yet apart from a few admiring glances of their own, Kopites have never had to wonder what could have been when it comes to the South Korean. They are more than happy with the hand Liverpool were dealt.

Whether Son has any regrets of his own, given his lack of silverware compared to his Reds counterparts, only he can say. It is worth noting though that even if he hadn’t turned down Klopp and Dortmund’s advances in 2013, that doesn’t mean he would have followed the German to Anfield.

Likewise, had he not left Leverkusen when he did, it’s impossible to know if Klopp would have reignited interest in Son’s services following his own arrival at Anfield. Like the South Korean’s impact on Liverpool’s title charge last year, it’s all ifs and buts now.

Son might be a big mistake for Klopp but there are no Reds regrets. The South Korean could have potentially been part of this Anfield story, but instead he is just an admired foe, watching on from afar as Liverpool won everything there is to win, with Europe’s biggest prize even coming at his expense.