Doubts over Son Heung-min's ability to make the grade at Tottenham Hotspur have been revealed by former head of recruitment Paul Mitchell.
The now-AS Monaco sporting director brought Son to north London for a fee of £22million from Bayer Leverkusen in August 2015. But he says that the transfer "was a bit of a learning curve" following doubts by other members of staff that "he wasn't a good finisher".
It comes as Jose Mourinho has returned to face his former side for the first time since his departure as his AS Roma claimed a 1-0 pre-season win over Spurs. And the former Spurs man was spotted having a bit of a chat with Fabio Paratici following a controversial incident on the pitch.
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Son doubts unearthed
Former Tottenham Hotspur head of recruitment Paul Mitchell has revealed that internal doubts were raised over Son Heung-min's goalscoring ability following his move from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015.
The South Korea international joined the club in a £22million deal, but Mitchell says the move was used to criticise him in the aftermath of Son's arrival. Mitchell says there "was this narrative that started to grow internally and externally that he wasn't a good finisher" but that the signing of Son was a lesson that taught him players "need time to settle".
And after Son shared last season's Premier League Golden Boot award with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, the man that brought him to north London believes he will "go down as one of the greatest players in Premier League history".
Roma beat Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur fell to a 1-0 defeat to Jose Mourinho's AS Roma on Saturday.
Roger Ibanez's first-half header was enough to seal the win at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa, Israel. The loss rounded off a mixed pre-season for Antonio Conte's side following wins over a K-League XI and Rangers, a 1-1 draw against Sevilla and the loss to Roma.
football.london have all of the highlights from the game.
Mourinho's chat with Paratici
Former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho was spotted having a lengthy chat with Fabio Paratici following a controversial challenge during Spurs' 1-0 loss to Roma.
In the second half Tottenham defender Cristian Romero caught Giallorossi captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, sparking a bit of a melee as the Italian midfielder took exception to the challenge. The players grappled on the pitch, sparking anger from the touchline as well.
The scenes led to Paratici remonstrating with a member of Roma staff – and of course Mourinho got involved. It was just one incident spotted during a fiesty encounter by football.london.
