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Son Heung-Min Quietly Becomes Vital to Tottenham's Fortunes

Harry Kane is Tottenham's top star, but Son Heung-min's importance to the club has come to light this season.
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In October 2017, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola labeled Tottenham 'the Harry Kane team' while listing Manchester City's potential title rivals.

It was an understandably easy to say that Tottenham are essentially 'Harry Kane's team.' He is the symbol of Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs side. He is the guy who scores the most goals. Oh, and he's also the England captain. 

However, in the midst of a Kane's current injury woes, another player has quietly emerged as Tottenham's most important player. 

Spurs' recent form has reinserted the club within the Premier League title discussion, with the Lilywhites battling Guardiola's City for second place, while also being only five points behind league leaders Liverpool–all without Kane's services.

So how can Tottenham continue to challenge without their star player? Well, it's because there's another player who Spurs fans can now make a legitimate case for as being their most valuable and important asset: Son Heung-min

Stating that Son is Tottenham's most important player is in no way a criticism of Kane. If Kane were to leave Spurs, they would be worse off, as it is hard to see how they could realistically replace the England striker.

But whenever the forward has been out injured, Tottenham has coped, due to the impressive performances of its South Korean star. 

Kane missed 14 games of the 2016/17 season through an ankle injury, and Tottenham finished second in the Premier League, and reached the FA Cup semifinal.

Son played a huge part in this success, appearing in 47 games in all competitions and scoring 21 goals. Eight of Son's goals came in games that Kane did not feature, showing that the 26-year-old was still able to contribute without the club's main forward.

Kane has missed five matches so far due to a torn ankle ligament. During those five matches, Spurs were knocked out of the EFL Cup and the FA Cup, but have won all three Premier League games that he has missed.

Kane's injury on this occasion has - unfortunately for Spurs - coincided with Son's departure for the Asian Cup, which saw the South Korean miss both cup defeats, before returning to score important goals in Tottenham's league victories against Leicester City and Newcastle United.

It was also noticeable that during the cup games and the last-gasp Fulham victory, that Tottenham had gone somewhat off the boil, with the Lilywhites attempting to accommodate Llorente's inclusion in the lineup by lumping balls into the box. 

Son's return to the side has seen Pochettino's typical style of football return, with Spurs winning both games with relative ease. 

Llorente being dropped for the Newcastle game is a symbol of Son's importance. His directness, versatility and clinical nature in front of goal makes him the perfect Pochettino player. 

He rarely suffers with injuries and is capable of playing a key role within Kane's supporting cast, as well as stepping into center stage to play the main role. With 21 goals in all competitions in the 2016/17 season, 18 in the 2017/18 campaign and 14 so far this campaign, Son is proving to be a consistent goalscorer in whichever role he plays. 

If displays without Son recently were anything to go by, Spurs are much worse team without Son than they are without Kane. In the England forward's absence, Tottenham fans are finally getting a glimpse of just how important Son is to their side.