By Noel Whelan

21st Jan, 2023 | 10:58am

Expert tells Antonio Conte to take Heung-min Son action as Tottenham details emerge - 'it's clear'

Noel Whelan has urged Antonio Conte to take forward Heung-min Son “out of the firing line” at Tottenham.

The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted he doesn’t like the way the 30-year-old is being used by Conte as he “clearly struggles” for form.

Son has netted just four Premier League goals in the 2022-23 season, just months after winning the Golden Boot alongside Liverpool star Mohamed Salah.

As per FBref, the South Korea international is enduring the worst form in front of goal in his career so far – with his tally of 0.24 goals per game even worse than his first season in England.

Son suffered a facial injury just before the World Cup in Qatar last year but managed to play at the showpiece tournament regardless.

Spurs forwards Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison had been sidelined through injury over the Christmas period but have recently returned to full strength.

Whelan told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “He’s not giving the same level of performance as we saw last year.

“He had the injury just before the World Cup and that means it has been stop and start for him.

“They have more options now, in Richarlison and Kulusevski. Conte wanted to add that in the summer.

“Why not drop him from the starting lineup and take him out of the firing line?

“It’s clear that he’s struggling and I don’t think he’s being used in the best way by Conte right now.”

In other news, pundit backs Thomas Tuchel to replace Antonio Conte at Tottenham after development.