What has gone wrong for Son Heung-Min? What is his future at Spurs?

Son Heung-Min and Mohamed Salah were born just over three weeks apart in the summer of 1992. Both are legends at their respective clubs. But while one of them describes this season as the best of his life, with Liverpool now overwhelming favorites to win the Premier League, the other has found his untouchable status at Tottenham Hotspur questioned for the first time in his career.

Father Time waits for no one, but perhaps he taps his watch face with a little more urgency for some. It can certainly seem that way for any 30-something footballer when they go through a difficult patch, just as Son has done within the wider malaise at Spurs.

Salah will be the first of the pair to turn 33, in June. He has benefitted from a much more settled squad around him, the impressive impact of manager Arne Slot and a higher calibre of teammate as evidenced by the 11 places and 31 points which separate Liverpool and Spurs in the table.

But while Salah has proved himself the enduring central force in Liverpool’s team, some Spurs fans have reluctantly begun to consider whether Son can still be their driving force as he approaches a decade in north London.

Such is his sense of professional and personal responsibility, Son’s outward demeanour has seemingly been affected by Tottenham’s issues this season. As one source told ESPN: “Maybe the main concern is not that Sonny isn’t scoring, it is that he isn’t smiling.”