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‘I don’t see any problem with him’: Antonio Conte defends Son Heung-min after a goalless start to Spurs’ Premier League campaign…and he reminds critics the forward bagged 23 goals last season
- Antonio Conte has defended Son Heung-min from critics after three matches
- Some believed the South Korean forward was slow to start this season
- Conte stressed Son, who scored 23 goals last term, was an ‘important player’
- Tottenham face Premier League new boys Nottingham Forest over the weekend
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Antonio Conte insists Son Heung-min’s slow start to the season is ‘no problem’, with the Tottenham manager confident the forward will come good soon enough.
Son’s three appearances this season have yielded no goals and new signing Richarlison is itching for a start alongside Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski.
Conte put Son’s quiet patch down to bad luck and did not indicate he was willing to drop the talented South Korean any time soon.
‘You know very well we are talking about a really important player for me, for the club,’ Conte said ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Son Heung-min has come under criticism for his slow start this season after 23 goals last time
‘Sonny in the last three games had the chances to score but there is a moment where you are a bit lucky or unlucky.
‘There is no problem with Sonny, with his performances, because the effort and commitment is always very high. I’m happy with his performance and I don’t see any problems with him.
‘When you are a striker, you like to score. When you score and win, you are happy. But we have to put always the club, the win, before every interest of a single player. He is an important player and last season he scored 23 goals (in the Premier League).
‘No problem. I’m sure when he goes to score, he’ll gain the right confidence.’
Antonio Conte has no issues with Son’s attitude to matches, calling him an ‘important player’
Conte also reacted to Tottenham’s Champions League draw after they were paired with Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Marseille in Group D.
The Spurs boss is optimistic that they can reach the next round and said: ‘We are talking about the most difficult and important competition in Europe, maybe the world, because you find the best teams in the world in this competition.
‘Our group, I see balance. For sure our target is to try to go to the next round. We gained the possibility to play this important competition and we want to enjoy and play good football and possibly go far.’