Son Heung-min asks to leave Tottenham with LAFC looking to seal transfer

Son Heung-min has told Tottenham and new head coach Thomas Frank that he wants to leave the club and talks with Los Angeles FC have been taking place over a move, football.london understands.

The 33-year-old has spent 10 years at Spurs, scoring 173 goals and registering 101 assists in 454 appearances. He became the first Asian player to score 100 goals in the Premier League and in May Sonmanaged to do what so few before him have managed at Tottenham in lifting a European trophy as captain of the club.

With that goal achieved and the Europa League trophy in the cabinet, football.london understands that Son told the club and his new head coach Frank earlier this summer that he wanted to leave on the perfect high note. The Dane is believed to have spoken to a number of senior players at Tottenham when he was first appointed and Son was the only one who indicated a desire to leave.

The former Premier League Golden Boot winner is understood to be keen to make the move to Los Angeles, where former Spurs team-mate Hugo Lloris currently plies his trade. The city contains the largest Korean population in the USA and such a move would bring Son to a league that boasts Lionel Messi at Inter Miami as well as an opportunity to put the South Korean star in front of the growing American audience.

Despite interest from Saudi Pro League clubs, which likely would have resulted in more lucrative offers for Tottenham, the north London club were supportive over the move and said to be flexible over the price, timing and destination that Son wanted due to his decade of service and huge contribution to the Lilywhites.

Talks with LAFC have taken place around Spurs' 1-0 win against Arsenal in Hong Kong and now the South Korea captain could make the move to the USA if a deal is agreed with the MLS outfit.

Son has remained professional throughout recent weeks, with his team-mates and Frank praising his efforts in training. He only played 15 minutes at the end of the game against the Gunners and after the final whistle of that encounter, the team's skipper for the night Cristian Romero went over and put the captain's armband on his team-mate, amid some resistance from Son, to ensure he got to lift another piece of silverware with the team, albeit the pre-season Herbalgy Trophy.

Son's potential LA switch means Sunday's match against Newcastle in his homeland might be the final game of his glittering time at the north London club unless the talks continue until Tottenham travel to Munich next week to take on Bayern.

Son and the team arrived to 500 Korean fans waiting inside Incheon International Airport on Friday after Spurs' flight from Hong Kong and he will now get to enjoy a farewell tour of sorts in front of a sell-out 66,000 crowd at the Seoul World Cup Stadium and it could also mean his last game in front of the Tottenham fans was that night in Bilbao.

Son's legacy at the north London club would have been intact regardless because of what he's produced in the 10 years since his £22million move from Bayer Leverkusen, but that Europa League final solidified it in his own mind even if only for one evening.

"Let’s say I’m a legend. Why not? Only today! 17 years nobody has done it, so today let’s say with amazing players probably a legend of the club," he said in Spain after lifting the trophy. "This is what I’ve always dreamed for. Today is the day it happened. I am the happiest man in the world."

Now Son looks set to bring an emotional close to his time at Tottenham and potentially embark on a new chapter of his career in Major League Soccer.