Heung-Min Son skips South Korea qualifier to focus on Spurs

Seoul - Heung-Min Son is skipping South Korea's 2018 World Cup qualifier against Syria on Tuesday to return to England and get his Tottenham Hotspur career on track.

The 24-year-old forward moved from Bayer Leverkusen in August 2015 for a reported fee of around £22 million ($29M), making him the most expensive Asian player yet.

Despite high expectations, Son made just 13 league starts for the London club and was overshadowed by stars such as Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen, as well as England internationals Harry Kane and Dele Alli, who helped Spurs finish third, the club's highest placing since 1990.

The Korean's hopes of becoming a regular starter in his second season in the English Premier League have not been helped by a lengthy summer of international duty.

Son spent several weeks with South Korea for Rio 2016 and World Cup qualification, missing all of Tottenham's three league games so far and much of the club's pre-season.

After playing in last week's 3-2 World Cup qualifying win over China, Son confirmed he will be in London with his country's blessing as his national team-mates take on Syria in Malaysia.

South Korea is letting Son return early, despite being under no obligation to do so, after Spurs released the player for Rio 2016.

"Tottenham are the team I wanted to join and I know that I have to work hard and play my best," Son said. "I am in good condition and ready to go and play as well as I can.

"I am sorry to my national team-mates and coach but I will support them and hope they get a good result against Syria," he added.

It has been a stressful few months for Son. When the English season ended in May, London's Daily Telegraph reported that Tottenham was ready to sell the attacker.

This came just nine months after signing the Korean who had previously spent six successful seasons in Germany's top tier with Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen.

The rumours persisted with further reports in England and Germany just before the end of the transfer window that VfL Wolfsburg had made a £17-million bid ($22.6 million) for Son.

"I haven't heard anything about my transfer," Son said. "I don't want to think about things happening outside the stadium. I just want to focus on playing football."

But Son, who scored more than 10 league goals in each of his last three seasons in Germany, admitted that the transfer stories were worrying.

"It's not a good sign that transfer rumours are coming out," Son said. "But I think it's meaningful that those in Germany acknowledge me."