Son Heung-min (31, Tottenham), who has been on fire in the English Premier League (EPL) this season, has been left out of the Best 11 again. This time, he lost out to Aston Villa striker Olly Watkins.
The Express, a British media outlet, released its Best 11 on Sept. 19 (KST), calling it “this season’s EPL team with four Tottenham players.” It was based on performances through the 12th round.
As expected, there were four Tottenham players on the list, but Son Heung-min’s name was not among them.레모나토토
The Express gave the front three spots to Watkins, Elling Holland (Manchester City) and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool).
The midfield three are Rodri (Man City), Declan Rice (Arsenal), and James Maddison (Tottenham). The defense four are Destiny Udoji, Micky van der Penne (both Tottenham), William Saliba (Arsenal) and Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United). Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham) is the captain.
Son Heung-min celebrates after the match against Chelsea.
Aston Villa striker Watkins. Photo by Getty Images
The media explained why they picked these players. “Aston Villa have made an incredible start to life under Unai Emery, and their star has been Watkins. With six goals and five assists, he joins the team ahead of Son Heung-min and Julian Alvarez (Man City).”
Watkins is Aston Villa’s main striker. He has six goals and five assists in 12 league appearances this season, helping the club to a fifth-place finish. Holland and Salah are the EPL’s top two scorers with 13 and 10 goals, respectively.
They are missing Son Heung-min, who is third in scoring. Son has eight goals and one assist in 12 league games this season, helping Spurs to an early surge. However, the Express favor Watkins, who has more attacking points.
Recently, global sports outlet ESPN also named its EPL Best 11 based on performances through the 12th round, and Son was left out. ESPN gave three spots to Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton), Holland, and Salah.
This season, the striker-turned-forward has rarely been included in other media’s best 11s, often as a midfielder or wingback instead of a forward. Even in England, there has been a lot of talk about Son not getting the recognition he deserves.