Atletico Madrid is eyeing Son Heung-min as a substitute for club legend striker Antoine Griezmann. Atletico Madrid is eyeing Son Heung-min as a substitute for club legend striker Antoine Griezmann.
Spanish media Pichahes reported on the 20th (Korea time) that "Superstar of the Premier League can sign with Atletico Madrid. When the contract with his team ends in June next year, he can head to Atletico Madrid."
The Premier League superstar mentioned by the media is Son Heung-min, who ranks second (124 goals) in the Premier League.
Son Heung-min is six months away from the expiration of his contract with Tottenham, and if Tottenham does not exercise the option to extend his current contract by one year, he will be able to freely negotiate a transfer with other clubs under Boseman rules from January 1 of the new year, just 10 days later.
"Son Heung-min, Tottenham's historic player, could be facing the final chapter of his glittering years in London. The 32-year-old South Korean striker has scored seven goals and six assists in 19 games this season, continuing to show his class and talent are intact," Pichahes said.
"However, Son's future is being closely investigated due to his contract expiring in 2025. Atletico Madrid are the team that will consider signing him if it is given favorable conditions," he added.
In fact, this is not the first time that Son Heung-min has been transferred to Atletico Madrid. There have been reports that Son Heung-min could go to Atletico Madrid at the moment he was just curious about his future.
The British media Cutoffside said at the time, "His future has yet to be determined. Son could stay longer at Tottenham, but Atletico wanted to make clear their interest in Son. They already had informal talks with their agents. Atletico Madrid must compete with Saudi Arabian teams, but Son's current plan is to remain in the European leagues," while also addressing the rumor of his transfer to Atletico Madrid.
Pichahes also said in September, "Atletico is one of the busiest teams in the transfer market last summer," adding, "The club that brought Julian Alvarez continues to work to strengthen the squad. Several names are emerging, and one of the most outstanding players is Son Heung-min."
"He turned 32 but is still displaying great performance at the highest level. Above all, his contract term ends in 2025. This is one of the great opportunities that the transfer market can provide. So far, Son has yet to sign an extension of his contract with Tottenham."
For Son, Atletico Madrid can be a good destination. More than anything else, Atletico Madrid is slightly behind Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga, and overwhelms other teams. It is an "underdog" that ranks among the quarterfinals and round of 16 teams in the UEFA Champions League. As a result, Diego Simeone, the manager of Atletico Madrid for 13 years, has been playing strong counterattack style soccer, which analysts say would be perfect for Son, who is still fast and capable of passing.
Founded in 1903, Atletico Madrid is a prestigious club that has won the Spanish La Liga title 11 times. Its latest championship is in the 2020-2021 season. It has also lifted the Copa del Rey trophy, Spain's FA Cup, 10 times, and won the UEFA Europa League three times.
The team is also fiercely competing with Barcelona and Real in the 2024-2025 season. Currently, the team is tying with the league's leading Barcelona (38 points), ranking second in the league behind the latter in points difference. There is only one point gap with the third-ranked Real Madrid. As the team ranks 11th out of 36 teams in the UEFA Champions League, it is highly likely to advance to the tournament.
Pichahes predicts that French national star player Antoine Griezmann, who is a year older than Son Heung-min, will go to the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS), and Son Heung-min will come accordingly.
French striker Griezmann, born in 1991, is one of Atletico Legends. Having played for Atletico since 2014, he left for Barcelona (2019-2022), but he has scored 192 goals and 90 assists in 413 matches while playing for Atletico. Griezmann's total score at Atletico is the highest in the club's history.
However, Griezmann is now 33 years old, and his contract expired in June 2026, and the day when Atletico and Griezmann will say goodbye is approaching. Griezmann has said he wants to play in the U.S. for his next destination after leaving Atletico. "As you know, my goal is MLS," he said in September last year.
Griezmann is embroiled in rumors of a transfer to MLS clubs, including LA FC, where former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who was actually a colleague of the French national team, plays. 먹튀검증
Atletico plans to recruit Son Heung-min as Griezmann's replacement if Griezmann wants to leave the team. If Son Heung-min replaces Griezmann in Atletico, he is expected to lead the attack along with Argentine striker Julián Álvarez, who was born in 2000.
Álvarez left Manchester City for Atletico during the transfer window last summer. He won three gold medals in the 2022-23 season at Manchester City (Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League) and won many trophies at an early age, including becoming a member of the 2022 Qatar World Cup for Argentina.
Alvarez, however, decided to move to Manchester City after failing to play as a mainstay due to "Monster Striker" Erling Holan. Since then, he has secured the time he wanted to play for Atletico, scoring 12 goals and two assists in 25 matches.
For Son, Alvarez can be a good partner. He could also seek to acquire a title at Atletico with Alvarez.
On the other hand, Atletico Madrid is more likely to compete with other big clubs to recruit Son Heung-min.