Jose Mourinho has named one player that he’s managed previously who he believes ‘could play’ for Liverpool.
The 61-year-old had just under 18 months in charge of Tottenham between 2019 and 2021, with Son Heung-min among those who featured under him in north London.
Speaking to EA Sports FC, the former Spurs boss knowingly risked the wrath of the club’s fanbase with a claim he made about the South Korea star.
Mourinho declared: “I don’t look at Son as a Korean player. I look at Son as one of the best players in the world. Maybe Tottenham supporters aren’t going to be happy with what I’m going to say, it’s not disrespectful.
“He could win titles, he could play for the best teams. He could be playing in England for Man City, for Liverpool, for Chelsea. It could be abroad playing for one of the top teams. He has that modern mobility of the attacking players. He can play through the middle, from the sides, wide to coming inside.”
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It’s fair to say that Son has been one of the best forwards in the Premier League over the past decade, having perhaps always received due credit due to the exploits of long-time Spurs teammate Harry Kane.
The 31-year-old has now hit double figures in the English top flight for eight consecutive seasons and has an annoyingly brilliant record of scoring against Liverpool, netting in five successive games against us after he was on target at Anfield last weekend (Transfermarkt).
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At the time that he joined Tottenham in 2015, the Reds were crying out for a forward of such reliability – Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling were the only two players to hit double figures for us in the preceding campaign, which for both was their last with LFC.
Of course, goalscoring certainly wasn’t a problem once the triumvirate of Sadio Mane, Bobby Firmino and Mo Salah was in place, although Son’s composure in front of goal would’ve been most welcome during a wretched April as our title challenge faltered, with profligacy in the final third proving a major contributory factor to that demise.
The South Korean is unlikely to join Liverpool at this stage of his career, with younger alternatives set to be preferred by the Anfield hierarchy, but his performances and goal tally in England suggests that he could’ve thrived on Merseyside as well as in north London.