Jose Mourinho keen to reward Son Heung-min with new Tottenham contract

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho expects Son Heung-min to be handed a new long-term contract “sooner or later”.

The South Korean, whose current deal is due to expire in 2023, is reportedly in discussions over a bumper new contract at the club following a devastating start to the season.

Son has scored nine goals in eight games and also chimed in with four assists, having been central to Tottenham’s goal glut.

Mourinho believes that form is likely to see him be rewarded with a hefty new deal that would make him one of the top earners at the club.

“I would love that,” he said. “Son has three years of contract so it’s not like we’re in an extreme situation of everybody being worried.

“It’s more that Son loves it here. I believe that he would like to commit his future to the club for a long time.

“Everybody at the club is totally in love with this player and this boy and is trying also to make him feel part of the furniture.

“It’s normal the club tries to go from three years to four or five or six, I don’t know. It’s normal.

“But it’s a very calm situation because Sonny has three more years of contract.

“But I wish [for him to get a new contract]. He deserves one. The club knows that and sooner or later, without any pressure, they will arrive into a decision.”

Son has often gone under the radar at Spurs as Harry Kane and Dele Alli have taken the limelight in recent years, but it is hard to ignore his level of performance in recent weeks.

The 27-year-old, who is an icon in South Korea, has never been in the headlines off the pitch and says that changing will be the only thing which can derail him.

“He cannot do more than what he does,” Mourinho added. “Season after season after season, Sonny is showing how good he is.

“Of course, the better the team is, the easier it is for the players to emerge.

“But Sonny is Sonny and everyone knows what he needs to do now to go to the next step: nothing.

“Or he starts doing s*** socially and becomes famous and becomes in the big headlines because of some weird, silly or naive social behaviour.

“Because he’s such an incredible kid, also at that level. It’s up to you to tell how good he is.”

Son, who came off the bench in Thursday’s Europa League win over LASK, will return to the starting line-up in Monday’s trip to Burnley.

The Clarets are enduring a tough start to the season, having taken one point from their opening four games, but Mourinho is not being lulled into a false sense of security.

He believes Sean Dyche’s side will be well clear of any danger come the business end of the season.

“You will feel how strong they are by March, April when lots of teams will be fighting for relegation, and they will be already safe,” he said.

“They will be already 8th, 9th, 10th, comfortable in the table. This is Burnley, so the fact they only have one point in this moment – they have played one match less and the fact they have one point doesn’t tell me much.

“Burnley is Burnley. The way they play, the players they have, their style of play, the manager, nothing’s changed there. It’s always difficult and it’s going to be difficult.”