Son Heung-min admits he craves a trophy to complete his Tottenham puzzle and is taking inspiration from Harry Kane, who has just won the German title with Bayern Munich.
Son texted his congratulations to his former striker partner and Kane replied with a video call.
‘I was really happy to see him happy,’ said the Spurs captain. ‘He is one of my best friends, and to see him achieve so much I was delighted for him like he’s my family. With that positive energy I hope he can support Spurs in the game as well so we can achieve a good result like his.’
Almost a decade has passed since Son joined Spurs, during which time he has been a runners-up in the Premier League, the Champions League and League Cup but has not won a major trophy.
‘We’ve been talking about this for years,’ said the 32-year-old Korean. ‘The biggest reason I stayed at Tottenham was to do something others couldn’t achieve.
‘You need all the pieces to complete a puzzle. I’ve gathered all the other pieces and it feels like I’ve been missing that one most important final piece and I’ve been trying to find it for 10 years.
Son Heung-min has admitted that he is inspired by Harry Kane’s Bundesliga success
Kane won the first trophy of his career as he helped Bayern to win the Bundesliga title
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou says it looks as though Dejan Kulusevski just has a knock
‘It feels different this time. I really want to win, more than anyone else, I think. So many people are supporting us with the same desperate passion I feel. If we prepare well, I believe we can achieve it.’
Son returned in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace after a month out injured. He will seek more minutes against Aston Villa on Friday although Ange Postecoglou will not let his heart rule his head in the Europa League final next week.
‘It comes down to getting him ready to play and then making a decision,’ said Postecoglou.
‘Nothing more than that. One thing I do know about finals is there are always moments and players who can change it, but it’s going to take a collective effort. It’s what we do as a team that will be much more important than individuals on the day.’
On Dejan Kulusevski, who injured a knee against Palace, Postecoglou added: ‘It looks like a knock at this stage but we’re going to let it settle for 24 hours more then assess it.’