Ange Postecoglou may be set to drop Son Heung-min Tottenham hint for Man Utd Europa League final

All eyes will be on Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham team selection at Aston Villa on Friday night in preparation for next week's Europa League final. The game at Villa Park was initially in the calendar for this Sunday but a request to the Premier League from saw the fixture moved forward a couple of days.

It now takes place on the same evening as Manchester United's game away at Chelsea, meaning neither side has an edge in terms of rest days ahead of next Wednesday's showdown in Bilbao, Spain. As both sides will want to wrap up their key players in cotton wool over the next week, starting XI decisions are going to be very interesting indeed.

In terms of Tottenham, is one player who is guaranteed to play a part in the Midlands as looks to build up his fitness following a recent foot injury. , playing the final 32 minutes after replacing Pedro Porro just prior to the hour mark.

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Postecoglou did have the opportunity to introduce the South Korean a lot earlier in the contest but he elected against doing so following Dejan Kulusevski's early substitution through injury on 19 minutes. , Postecoglou provided a further update on Son's current fitness levels.

"Firstly, from a physical standpoint he's good. It's important he got some minutes yesterday, he needed them. More for himself psychologically more than anything else," explained the 59-year-old.

"He had a good session today. He was never going to do the whole session because he played yesterday. He feels good so we've still got eight or nine days to go and a game on Friday where we can build him up.

"It's great to have him available. He's been a big catalyst this year and a driver of... he understands better than most what a trophy would do for this football club and for him personally because he's had an unbelievable career here in which he's done just about everything. But the key bit, that silverware which every player craves, he knows how significant it would be for the club and him personally. So the fact that he's back available is good."

: "In terms of his fitness, he's progressing well. He played 25-30 minutes yesterday, we should get him some game time against Villa on Friday. If he trains right through he should be in a good condition.

"He's worked hard to get back with the medical team. It was a funny injury. There was no kind of pre prescribed length of time, it was just how he felt and progressed. But he worked hard with the medical team. It was important he gets some game-time so hopefully he kicks on now."

As part of increasing Son's minutes ahead of the Europa League final, the Tottenham head coach now needs to decide whether the 32-year-old starts at Aston Villa or he is again introduced from the bench. Whichever options he chooses, .

As was the case back in 2019 with question marks over Harry Kane's place in the Tottenham team for the Champions League final after he last featured in early April due to an ankle injury, the same may happen six years on with Son. When it comes down to the player possibly starting at San Mames Stadium, the best thing for the Tottenham captain is to prove his fitness and match sharpness at Villa Park in Friday's 7:30pm kick-off, thus leaving Postecoglou with a couple of days to stew over handing him a starting berth in Bilbao.

"It comes down to getting him ready to play and then making a decision. It's nothing more than that," .

"One thing I do know about finals is there are always moments and players who can change it. But it's going to take a collective effort, it's what we do as a team that will be much more important than individuals on the day."

Before the showpiece finale comes around, Postecoglou must decide his Son approach at Villa Park this Friday evening. The amount of minutes he plays could possibly in turn drop a hint when it comes to the Tottenham team to take on Manchester United in Bilbao.

A look behind the scenes & Postecoglou's big decision against Aston Villa. to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham!