Tottenham's Heung-min Son says Asian players have to work harder to succeed in Premier League

Heung-min Son believes Asian players have to work harder to succeed in the Premier League than footballers from other continents.

At 25, the South Korea star is already one of the finest players his continent has produced, having performed well in Germany and scored 30 goals in 91 Premier League appearances for Tottenham.

After a difficult start to life in England since his £22million move from German club Bayer Leverkusen to Spurs in 2015, Son has been outstanding in the past two seasons. He scored 21 goals in all competitions last term and has 18 this campaign, with two months still remaining.

But few Asian players have made a genuine impact at the top level of English football.

Son’s compatriot Park Ji-Sung won four League titles and the Champions League at Manchester United, Shinji Okazaki helped Leicester to the title in 2016, and Ki Sung-Yueng and Maya Yoshida have done well for Swansea and Southampton respectively.

Son chooses his words carefully and his thoughts are intriguing. Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s FA Cup quarter-final at Swansea, where he is set to line up against his countryman Ki, he said: “Many European players or South American players are quicker than many of us (Asian players), stronger than us, because the domestic leagues are generally more competitive there than in Asia.

“This is what I think, and that is where there is a big gap between Asia and Europe. That is why you have to work harder than other people and, if you ask some other players, they will give the same answer as me.

“How many Asian players have been successful in the Premier League? Not many. Someone like Park had a good impact here because he worked hard, he ran for the team. This is what we can do.”

When it is put to Son that his achievements might be changing these perceptions, he replied: “Maybe. But I’m still working hard. You need to work hard and need to be lucky.

“It is very tough to play in the Premier League. You need to be 100 per cent — technically, mentally, physically. There is not the same strength in the leagues in Asia as there is in Europe and, while there are some good players, they are inconsistent.

“So it is a bit more difficult than it is for European people, and the Premier League — physically — is harder than in Germany. There have been a number of players from Japan and South Korea in the Bundesliga but in the Premier League, not as many.

“The Premier League is quicker than the Bundesliga and this makes a difference.”

Son is likely to lead the line in tomorrow’s quarter-final in the absence of the injured Harry Kane.

Fernando Llorente scored the opening goal when Spurs last visited Swansea — his former club — in January’s League fixture, but Son is in fine form after scoring seven times in his last four matches, including a brace after he replaced Kane up front in Sunday’s 4-1 win at Bournemouth.