"Son's goal drought? A complete misunderstanding." The reason Son Heung-min is being mentioned as the league MVP is "Even without goals, he leads in assists. Do not doubt him."

*This content was translated by AI.

Son Heung-min (34, LAFC), who has transformed into a top-tier playmaker, has confidently secured a spot as a candidate for the Major League Soccer (MLS) first-half Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Global soccer specialist 'Goal.com' reviewed the MLS MVP race ahead of the World Cup break on the 6th (Korean time) and selected the main candidates.

The name that drew the most attention was Son Heung-min, who ranked seventh. The media first pointed out Son Heung-min's lack of goals. "Son Heung-min is not having the best goal-scoring season of his career. It is a huge shock that a player who could easily score 20 goals in a season has yet to taste a goal," the report stated.

However, the media drew a line, stating that he should not be evaluated based solely on goal-scoring records. The media said, "Limiting Son Heung-min to just goals is a misunderstanding of his play and the entire LAFC team. He has recorded seven assists in 685 minutes. He is playing from a deeper position than before, resulting in fewer average shots and goal-scoring opportunities, but eventually, his goal-scoring prowess will erupt," the analysis continued.

The media emphasized that Son Heung-min is being perfectly utilized as the core playmaker of the attack under new coach Marc Dos Santos. The media praised, "Son Heung-min has evolved into a completely different player, and thanks to that, LAFC has firmly held onto third place in the Western Conference. Even if he is not Lionel Messi's most obvious competitor, he has sufficient qualifications to be mentioned as an MVP candidate."

This season, Son Heung-min has recorded two goals and 15 assists in official matches. While his assists are overwhelming, concerns about an 'aging curve' have emerged as his goal tally has dropped. However, Son Heung-min silenced these worries with his performance. Immediately after returning to the league following the two March A-match games, he proved his class by racking up four assists in a single match against Orlando. He is currently producing more than one attacking point per game, completely erasing concerns directed at him.

Timo Werner (San Jose), Son Heung-min's former teammate at Tottenham, ranked third. Despite limited playing time early in the season, Werner accumulated nine attacking points in seven matches. The media evaluated, "Werner's playmaking ability, which did not receive attention during his European days, is now shining."

First place overall went to Lionel Messi (Inter Miami). With nine attacking points in ten matches, his stats are not overwhelmingly superior compared to previous years. However, the media stated, "As long as Messi is in MLS, he is undoubtedly the best player," effectively treating a third consecutive MVP award as a foregone conclusion.

Other than that, Hany Mukhtar (Nashville) ranked second, while Petar Musa (FC Dallas), Sam Surridge (Nashville), and Nico Fernandez (NYCFC) took positions from fourth to sixth, respectively.

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*This content was translated by AI.