Son Heung-min: Tottenham star's £11m football academy is truly fascinating

Son Heung-min’s ascent at Tottenham has seen him develop into one of the most lethal attackers in European football.

Since joining Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, Son has steadily grown in importance and is now one of the team’s most vital assets, right alongside teammate and strike partner Harry Kane.

It’s taken a while for people to appreciate him as a truly world class attacker, but there is no denying it anymore when you look at his stats and performances over the last few seasons.

But when not pleasing Spurs fans and ripping up the Premier League with his unrelenting technique and eye for goal, Son is also flying the flag for South Korea, his home country.

Already regarded as one of the greatest Asian footballers ever by many, the 30-year-old is one of South Korea’s biggest footballing success stories and carries the hope of the nation on his shoulders, particularly in the international game.

Son was instrumental in helping his country win gold at the 2018 Asian Games, and is the country’s joint top scorer at the World Cup, representing South Korea at the 2014 and 2018 tournaments.

But what makes his story even better is the humble beginnings that Son has come from, pushed by his family, and how grounded he remains despite being one of football’s top stars and a symbol of national pride in South Korea.

So much so, that Son is already giving back in his home country with the Son Academy – a footballing school set up in Chuncheon, where he grew up as a youth.

The Athletic gained exclusive access to the academy, which has been in operation for around a decade, and the insight is seriously fascinating.

Built at a cost of around £11 million, the academy has been funded mostly by Son himself and has expanded in