Heung-min Son is confident he made the right choice in remaining at Tottenham after his double gave Spurs a hard-fought victory over Middlesbrough.

The South Korean forward netted both goals in the 2-1 victory to take Mauricio Pochettino’s side up to second in the formative league table and ensure that Harry Kane’s absence was not too keenly felt.

It had seemed in the final days of the transfer window that Son was set to head back to the Bundesliga after a stop-start first season in England where he struggled to carve out a regular role, starting just 13 league games. But there are no regrets from the 24-year-old now that he has finally established himself under Pochettino.

“I am very happy now… All I wanted to do is play in the Premier League because I like playing for Tottenham and I like scoring goals,” he told reporters.

“It’s difficult to say now if I thought I would come back after the Olympics. I don’t know how to answer that, because I am staying here now and I am very happy.

“It is true I went to see the gaffer because I wanted to ask him to play more – I am a footballer and every player wants to play games. He was very honest with me, very truthful, and I am very grateful to him.

“This is very special, but the season has only just started and we have to keep this up as a team and I need to keep this form personally.”

Pochettino admitted that Son, signed for £24m from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, had his eye on an exit on his return from the Rio Olympics but praised his matchwinner for having the conviction to tough it out in England.

“He asked to leave after the Olympic Games but we decided he would stay with us,” said Pochettino. “I didn’t want him to go.

“You can see his reaction has been good. The expectation on him, when you arrive in a new country, with a different style of football. He struggled to settle, but he’s working very hard and that is the most important thing.

“Not all players would be able to do that. I’m impressed with him as a man as well as a footballer. He’s a very nice person and how he works is impressive.”