Liverpool were surprisingly close to landing Tottenham forward Son Heung-min as recently as 2022, according to recent reports.
The South Korean has become Spurs’ talisman since the departure of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich in the summer, registering eight goals in the first 10 Premier League games so far this season.
It was reported last May that the Reds were considering making a ‘significant offer’ for the 31-year-old, with Sadio Mane all set for his own move to the Bundesliga champions by that stage.
Now those stories have been amplified, with fresh reports detailing how close the deal was to becoming a reality.
The Telegraph have claimed that Liverpool were “sniffing around” in the knowledge that Son was likely to leave the club had they failed to qualify for the Champions League in 2022.
In the end, Spurs pipped their North London rivals Arsenal to fourth place in the Premier League and secured their spot in Europe’s elite club competition, meaning the forward committed his future to the club he has been at since 2015.
Liverpool were targeting a replacement for Mane, having got to within two games of completing an unprecedented quadruple in the 2021/22 season, and Son was considered a viable option despite playing for a fellow Premier League side.
Had Spurs dropped out of the top four, it is likely that the Reds would have made a concrete approach and the South Korean could have kicked off his 2023/24 campaign in this style at Anfield, rather than at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Liverpool have since made two further attacking signings, with Darwin Nunez joining the club from Benfica that summer and Cody Gakpo following him from PSV in January.
It has left Jurgen Klopp with an embarrassment of riches at the top of the pitch, with Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah already within the impressive forward ranks.
Son is now flying high with Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham at the top of the Premier League tree, having amassed 26 points from a possible 30 so far this season.
He may be left to wonder what might have been had Spurs failed to qualify for the Champions League in 2022, but the Reds aren’t struggling in front of goal having already notched 23 goals from their first 10 league games in the current campaign.
