With Son Heung-Min in talks to join Tottenham Hotspur, Bayer Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt says the South Korean striker would be wrong to turn his back on Champions League football.
The 23-year-old, under contract with Leverkusen until 2018, is reported to be set to sign a deal worth an estimated 30 million euros ($34 million, (Ā£22 million), if he passes the medical, according to German media reports.
Son was left out of Leverkusen’s 3-0 win over Lazio on Wednesday in a Champions League play-off, which saw the Germans qualify for the group stages with a 3-1 win on aggregate, and Schmidt says the Asian star would be wrong to leave them.
“Son is a great lad and a great player, who isn’t really being advised well at the moment,” Schmidt told German Sky Sports ahead of Leverkusen’s league match at Bayern Munich on Saturday.
“He has resolved to do something which isn’t so nice for us.
“That wasn’t ideal, things could have been done better, but the team has blended it out.”
Leverkusen midfielder Haken Calhanoglu echoed Schmidt’s sentiments that the timing of Sons’ Spurs talks was poor.
“We were then informed what’s going on,” said Calhanoglu.
“It’s a bit disappointing. I tried to reach him but I could not get hold of him.
“The whole team is disappointed, but it’s not his fault — he’s a good lad. I believe that he’s been badly advised.”
Son is the latest German league star poised to join the Premier League with Manchester City negotiating with Wolfsburg for Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne.
Leverkusen’s director of sport Rudi Voeller said the latest trend in England is bad for the rest of European football.
“It’s unfortunate the way things have gone, but we can not help it,” said Voeller.
“Wolfsburg have also felt it in the last few weeks.
“The British television market has exploded and there an awful lot of money around.
“They’re trying to buy players from across Europe and we’re a club who will suffer beneath that, every now and then, so we have to defend ourselves.
“He was there (Son in London), but it’s not yet certain.”
Son arrived at Leverkusen in the summer of 2013 in a club record 10 million euros move from Bundesliga rivals Hamburg, scoring 21 goals in 62 league matches. –Ā Agence France-Presse
