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Heung-Min Son is hoping to begin the 2016-17 season with a crack at glory on international duty with South Korea. Even if a medal proves elusive, the honour of representing his country at the Olympic Games will still offer considerable compensation—barring a deeply disappointing overall performance.

Participation at Rio 2016 could be to the detriment of his short-term prospects with his club Tottenham Hotspur, however.

Son's impending involvement at the Olympic football tournament—he is one of the Asian nation's three allotted players aged 23 or over—has, if nothing else, complicated his integration into the upcoming campaign. Expectations of him are subject to alteration depending on how things go with both parties during this period.

The attacker's second year playing in England may end up being boosted by the time with his national team.

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

A positive experience out in Brazil could help his confidence and form, benefiting him so significantly it makes up for lost time with his club. As noted by ESPN FC's Dan Kilpatrick, winning a medal would also excuse him from his as-yet completed military service back home.

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After the mixed experience of his debut Premier League campaign, though, there will be some concern being away will cost him a chance of establishing some early momentum.

Injury certainly hurt Son here at a similar point almost a year ago.

After transferring from Bayer Leverkusen in mid-August, his Tottenham career began with a string of welcome enthusiastic performances. A brace against Qarabag in the Europa League and the winner versus Crystal Palace in the Premier League helped kickstart the team's season after a winless opening month. He impressed again in the memorable 4-1 league win over Manchester City.

Son spoke positively to Spurs' official website about the foot issue that kept him out until November, stating upon his return "I am fit and getting better and stronger." Come May, he admitted it had been more problematic.

"I started well, got injured and then getting fit took a long time," he told the Tottenham & Wood Green Journal's Ben Pearce. "I'm still getting [back to] 100 per cent."

Son made 40 appearances overall—a solid return—and scored eight times. In the aforementioned Journal interview, he described the Premier League as being "harder than what I thought."

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Challenging though the new experience was, the good of Son's work certainly established his qualities. On his day, he is an energetic presence, hungry to get forward and tricky for even focused opponents to contain.

The not-so-good days raised doubts about his ability to perform consistently, as well as concerns over his suitability to a Mauricio Pochettino team.

Speaking in April to the club's official website, he highlighted the collective spirit that underpins Spurs' pressing and beguilingly cohesive attacking play at their most effective as his favourite tenet of the Argentinian's philosophy.

"The trust among the players—I think this is the important thing," he, then-23, said. "We are very young, we trust each other and we have a very good understanding."

In practice he has not always employed the focus and commitment integral to making this work, with his motivation to pitch in when the team's press is bypassed also varying—he was certainly more interested here early on when he was seeking to make a good impression. See the underwhelming springtime showings away at Liverpool and Newcastle United for a couple of such displays that at times also highlighted his more erratic final-third tendencies.

Son's performances in the pre-season International Champions Cup losses to Juventus and Atletico Madrid came somewhere in between the good and bad.

Encouraged by the team's efforts (see below), his own were quieter, not revealing a whole lot about where he is heading into the new campaign.

In his 45 minutes against Juve, there was plenty of bustle but little end product. Things improved slightly against Atletico—he notably set up a good Ryan Mason chance—but he was again outshone by others in attack such as Erik Lamela and Josh Onomah.

Pochettino's plans for Son was already one of many intriguing storylines at White Hart Lane this season and is arguably even more fascinating now. Just how patient will he be with him if he does not quickly find his feet following the Olympics?

In the aftermath of the aforementioned 5-1 last-day defeat to Newcastle, it was reported by the Telegraph's Matt Law, among others, that Son would be up for sale, with his poor performance that day supposedly confirming in Pochettino's mind he would be surplus to requirements. That general conclusion was surprising as, while he did not play well, he was and had been no worse than anyone else on Spurs' less happier days.

Son's inclusion on the recent trip to Australia suggests he does have a chance at a future in north London, unlike Nabil Bentaleb, who was left behind. Nevertheless, the manager has also shown he will not carry around dead weight during a campaign—see the fates the likes of Federico Fazio and Aaron Lennon have suffered the last couple of years.

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The merit of patience with foreign acquisitions has been seen in Spurs' handling of Lamela.

His first season was far more disappointing than Son's, as frustratingly minimal initial involvement gave way to long-term injury. Even after a promising second year, it was only in the Argentina international's third he really found himself as a Premier League performer.

Similar to Lamela, and unlike, say, Roberto Soldado (signed as a 28-year-old, time did not help him), Son's youth gives him some leeway. Though he has good experience in the Bundesliga and at international level, there is perhaps still a little more room allowed for him to make the transition to a new working environment.

With other options in attacking midfield and the addition of Vincent Janssen bolstering the striker ranks, Spurs should get by without Son during his absence. If he is struggling to find form beyond that, they could have enough to compensate then, too.

But if he fails to make the desired improvement, Pochettino could wonder why it is worth persevering with such an expensive recruit. Why not hand the spot to promising youngsters like Onomah or Shayon Harrison instead?

The main reason is Son is one of his players most capable of providing a certain explosiveness.

His speed and nimble footwork are big weapons, both when deployed more directly (charging through to score the winner against Palace) or in more intricate moves using opponents' individual positioning against them (instigating from deep and then calmly finishing Spurs' opener at home to Southampton in May via a Lamela assist).

Players like Dele Alli and Lamela are capable of such moments, too, but there is a live-wire feel to Son's contributions that make him dangerous in a less reliable, but often as effective way.

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Predominantly deployed in attacking midfield, the duties and consequences of this role maybe prohibited Son harnessing this as much. In more combative and gruelling games he lost rhythm.

Though his finishing was not always great, there was a freedom about his attack-focused outings that Pochettino may have capitalised on more. Qarabag struggled to deal with Son in his home debut, while later on in the season, he gave Borussia Dortmund a lot more to contend with than Nacer Chadli as a more fixed target-man had leading the line in a first leg in which Spurs were comfortably blunted.

As confirmed following his signing, Son's ability to play in various attacking positions is a big part of his appeal to Pochettino.

But perhaps if the Argentinian gave him a fixed assignment, it will allow the coach to channel his player's efforts more effectively. There is certainly room for a quicker, more unpredictable frontman to act as an alternative to the straightforward styles of Harry Kane and Janssen.

Whatever Pochettino has in mind for Son upon his return, the least he and Tottenham fans should hope for is a useful attacking option again.

Maybe he is too mercurial a talent to become a genuinely consistent performer of double-figure goal tallies and comforting predictability—in this team anyway. The flip side is the better part of that nature will produce results too irresistible to completely dismiss.