Spurs Make Approach to Re-Sign Son Heung-min From LAFC

Tottenham have made an approach to re-sign Son Heung-min from LAFC, with a loan deal for the 2025-26 season among the structures discussed – but former Spurs scout Bryan King, who revealed the contact, was candid enough to frame it as exploratory rather than imminent.

King told Tottenham News: “This is from someone who I know – Spurs were trying to get Son back for a year, for the season coming. He’d certainly generate some interest if he came back. There’s always the possibility of him coming on loan.” That is a secondhand account from a former employee of the club, not a report from a journalist with direct access to the negotiations, and it should be read accordingly.

The Wage Problem Is Real

The structural obstacle here is wages, and it is not a minor one. Son is reported to be the second-highest earner in MLS, behind only Lionel Messi – a salary level that was made possible partly by Saudi Pro League interest at the time of his departure, which forced any suitor to match or approach that figure. On a standard loan arrangement, LAFC would be expected to cover a portion of those wages. They have no obvious incentive to subsidise a player who is not suiting up for them, and Tottenham would be absorbing costs well above what most of their current squad earns.

That is not a deal-breaker in isolation, but combined with Son’s age – he turns 34 in July – it makes the calculus genuinely difficult for a club that has publicly committed to a longer-term rebuild rather than short-term fixes.

Why the Club’s Situation Doesn’t Help

Tottenham finished 17th in the Premier League last season – the same position they finished in the campaign that convinced Son and the club to part ways in the first place. Asking a player to return to the same environment he left, with no material improvement in the club’s standing, is a tough sell regardless of his personal affection for the place.

Son left after Spurs won the Europa League, which gave his departure a clean narrative: silverware secured, time to move on. Coming back after a second 17th-placed finish strips away that framing entirely. His 454 appearances and more than 170 goals in all competitions make him one of the club’s all-time greats, but sentiment alone does not resolve a wage structure mismatch or reverse a club’s league trajectory.

Spurs have been active elsewhere in the window – their pursuit of high-profile midfield additions signals genuine ambition under new leadership – but the summer business so far has been heavily weighted towards defensive reinforcement, with Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi both arriving. Attacking targets have also been identified, which is the context in which any Son conversation sits: Spurs need creative output from the front line and Son, even at 33, would theoretically provide that.

The Verdict

This is a soft approach, reported via a former scout citing a secondhand contact, and it has the feel of an idea that was floated rather than a transfer that has genuine momentum. The wage complication is structural and significant. Son left a club that had just finished 17th and then won the Europa League – he is being asked to return to a club that has since finished 17th again, without the trophy incentive.

That does not mean the conversation did not happen. It almost certainly did. But there is a long distance between Tottenham making an inquiry and Son agreeing to take a meaningful pay cut to re-join a team that is, by any honest measure, further from where he wants to be than when he left. The numbers need to move significantly before this becomes a real deal rather than a nostalgic phone call.