Los Angeles FC agree to terms with Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min: Reports

LOS ANGELES – Son Heung-min, who spent 10 seasons with Tottenham Hotspur and stars for the South Korea national team, has a deal in place to join Los Angeles FC (LAFC), according to multiple reports.

LAFC will pay a transfer fee of around US$26 million (S$33.5 million), GiveMeSport and ESPN reported, which would break the Major League Soccer record of US$22 million that Atlanta United paid Middlesbrough to acquire Emmanuel Latte Lath in February.

Son, 33, announced over the weekend that he planned to leave Tottenham, saying he achieved everything that he could with the north London club and was interested in a new challenge.

Tottenham drew 1-1 with Newcastle United in a friendly in Seoul, which served as Son’s farewell match. The forward, who received a standing ovation and a guard of honour, said he had “a huge respect and am very grateful” to his old club.

Son scored 173 goals and added 94 assists in 454 matches for Tottenham across all competitions, with 127 coming in the English Premier League. As captain, he helped Spurs win the 2025 Europa League for the first major trophy of his club career.

He previously played in Bundesliga for Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen.

Son has also scored 51 goals in 134 matches for South Korea and is the country’s second-leading scorer of all time. He has played in the past three World Cups.

In LAFC – who also signed Scottish defender Ryan Porteous from Watford on Aug 4 – Son is joining a decorated Major League Soccer side who are vying for another play-off berth. Los Angeles, with 36 points from 10 wins and six draws in 22 matches, are sixth in the Western Conference.

In other news, Czech striker Patrik Schick has extended his contract with Son’s former team Leverkusen until 2030, the Bundesliga club announced on Aug 4.

Schick, 29, was an integral part of Leverkusen’s unbeaten German domestic double-winning squad in the 2023-24 season.

Since joining in 2020, Schick has netted 81 times in 168 appearances in all competitions, as well as laying on 12 assists.

Under former coach Xabi Alonso, Schick contributed vital goals on numerous occasions as Leverkusen became the first club to win the Bundesliga without losing a match.

He also lifted the German Cup and German Super Cup in 2024.

“I want to and will continue to contribute goals, that’s my strength. In addition, I’m also looking to being a key part of the rebuild into a new team capable of winning trophies,” said Schick.

The forward’s decision to extend his contract bucks the trend of departures this summer from the Bundesliga runners-up.

Alonso left to coach Real Madrid, while star playmaker Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Granit Xhaka and Jonathan Tah have also departed.

“With the rebuild in the next cycle at Bayer 04 we see Patrik as a motor of development,” said managing director of sport Simon Rolfes.

“He combines top-quality ability and an exceptional goal return with international experience and he will give the squad the necessary stability and structure.”

Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has replaced Alonso in the Leverkusen hot seat as the club start down a new path.

He and Schick will be supported in that project by the recent arrivals of centre-back Jarell Quansah from Liverpool, goalkeeper Mark Flekken from Brentford and American midfielder Malik Tillman.

Meanwhile, Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Florian Neuhaus returned to training on Aug 4 following his weeks-long suspension and publicly apologised about a video in which he had appeared to mock the Bundesliga club’s sporting director Roland Virkus.

Neuhaus was fined and suspended for four weeks in early July.

In a video posted on social media last month, the 28-year-old former Germany international could be seen talking to several people wearing Gladbach kits about Virkus, whom he called “the worst manager in the world”. REUTERS, AFP