Thomas Frank Breaks Silence on Son Heung-Min Future at Tottenham Amid Exit Rumours

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank also addressed questions regarding the future of captain Son Heung-Min, who is in the final 12 months of his contract and has attracted interest from Los Angeles FC (LAFC).

Multiple reports have indicated that Los Angeles FC are advancing in talks to sign Son Heung-min. Once Son returns to London, discussions will be held with Thomas Frank regarding his role and playing time for the upcoming season.

Son Heung-min, who joined Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, has made 454 appearances and scored 173 goals for the club. Son is currently part of Tottenham’s pre-season tour in Asia and is contractually obligated to feature in a friendly against Newcastle United on August 3 in South Korea.

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Selling him before that match could cost the Spurs a significant portion of their commercial revenue, and sources suggest no official move is expected before then.

"Right now Sonny is here, and I'm very happy about that. He's training well. As I said in the last press conference, he's showing great character. He played the last two friendlies. He's in the squad; he'll train today, Tuesday. My focus is that he's a Tottenham player," Thomas Frank shared in a press conference in Hong Kong.

Thomas Frank also confirmed that defender Destiny Udogie is dealing with a knee problem that could jeopardise his availability for the start of the season.

Summer signing Kota Takai has also picked up a foot injury. Left-back Udogie was withdrawn from the warm-up before Tottenham's friendly against Luton on Saturday and subsequently did not travel with the squad to Hong Kong for their week-long preseason tour of Asia.

Spurs face European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the European Super Cup on August 13 before kicking off their Premier League campaign at home against newly-promoted Burnley.

However, Frank may have to cope without Italian international Udogie and has revealed Japanese defender Takai is also sidelined with a foot injury.

"Destiny has a knee injury which we're assessing at the moment, but it's why he missed the preseason tour. Kota also has an injury, unfortunately. We don't know how serious it is, but he will be out for weeks," Thomas Frank said at a press conference in Hong Kong.

There is positive news regarding English forward Dominic Solanke, who missed the Luton friendly with a minor ankle issue but did travel to Asia.

Spurs are preparing for Thursday's North London derby against Arsenal at the Kai Tak Stadium before heading to the Republic of Korea to play Newcastle in Seoul on Sunday.

"Dom is looking much better, progressing well. We'll see if it's too early for Arsenal, but we're positive about him. James Maddison is also looking better and better, but again it might be too soon for Arsenal, we'll see. Rodrigo Bentancur is back after illness, so that's good," the manager added.

Former Tottenham coach Ange Postecoglou had to contend with several injuries last season which disrupted the end of their Premier League campaign amid a successful Europa League run. Frank, however, believes steps can be taken to mitigate potential fitness issues going forward.

"I'm aware of the injury problems, but it's an issue for every club around the world. We have a good, long preseason to monitor the players. We know how we want to train. There's gym work, recovery, and opportunities to compete in all competitions. We're aware and will make adjustments to be as competitive as possible," he stated.