The South Korean star has stepped up behind the scenes and left some surprised at just how much of an impact he has had in his new role
It should not really be much of a surprise that Son Heung-min has stepped up and then some in his new role as Tottenham Hotspur captain, yet some have been struck by just how comfortably he has taken on the armband.
Outside of Spurs, the South Korean star was the seemingly obvious choice to become the club's next captain with Hugo Lloris set to depart and Harry Kane having made the switch to the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich. Son is the skipper of his national side and carries the hopes of his country on his shoulders every single week, regardless of whether he's playing international or club football, and he is one of Spurs' longest serving first teamers and their biggest star.
Yet there was still surprise among some within Tottenham and those who have departed, despite relishing working and playing with Son over the years, that Ange Postecoglou had decided to give him the armband to lead the club forward into a very different new era.
For Son has always been immensely popular within the club and well respected by everyone, yet not too many saw him as a leader at Tottenham. That was demonstrated most notably by the fact that despite being one of the team's older players, the 31-year-old was not part of Spurs' leadership group in recent years, a group which contained Lloris, Kane, Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Before that Mauricio Pochettino would mostly go through Lloris to discuss the overall mood of the group but the leadership group was borne after the Argentine's exit as a way for the players to have their voice within the club. Even the young players were represented with Oliver Skipp becoming involved towards the end of the Antonio Conte era in an experience-gaining role as their representative.
But there was no Son. So there was some surprise within the club and among those who have left in recent years when Postecoglou announced his new captain would be the South Korean star and that his vice-captains would be new arrival James Maddison and Argentine centre-back Cristian Romero. None of the squad's previous leaders were involved. It was a clean sweep of the broom by the new Tottenham boss.
There was a little pause in the team meeting as Son's name was said by Postecoglou before the players all began to turn with smiles and applauded their new skipper.
All three members of the new captaincy group were surprised. Postecoglou had given them no prior heads-up, so Son suddenly found himself called up to make a quick speech in front of his team-mates and the club's cameraman as they were tipped off that the captaincy announcement was to come in that pre-match team meeting.
Son even politely asked if he should make a speech after Postecoglou gave him a handshake and a hug. Off the cuff he spoke about the huge season ahead, the need to be disciplined, to train hard and most importantly for all of them to be together. He punctuated the impromptu speech with a regular beat by clapping his hands together at the end of each sentence. The pride was clear in the grin on his face.
Postecoglou made it clear during that team meeting that leadership can come from anywhere. "Leadership can come from the youngest players in the team. Leadership is about behaviour," he said. "That's it. It's the example you set. If you train well and if you do something in the game that inspires everyone else then that's leadership. It's about everyone buying into it."
Postecoglou wants the dressing room to very much be the players' space with no intrusion from the coaching staff and how that environment looks needs to be driven by the squad rather than him or his staff. He told the players that they would create the environment that decides whether Spurs are successful.
That's why Son was the obvious choice despite that surprise for some. Like Kane, he sets an example through his professionalism and his training levels and what he does during matches often drives on the team. Last season was more difficult because, by his own admission, he spent much of it in his own half or in positions where his threat was nullified and that appeared to eat into his confidence.
Before that though Son was the one who would step up in Kane's absence and drag the team through most of the matches the England captain missed through injury for his club.
Now he is stepping up once again and even those who did not see him as a leader at club level have been taken aback by just how much Sonny - as he is known by everyone - has relished this new challenge and how much effort he has already put into repaying Postecoglou's faith in him.
Those behind the scenes have noticed him grow quickly with the responsibility and he has become an active leader when before he was simply a popular member of the squad. That popularity has helped though as nobody wants to let down a player who has always been there for them.
It was Son who came up with the idea of taking the players over to the travelling Spurs fans before kick-off at Brentford in the opening game and after applauding them go into a team huddle that whipped up the Tottenham supporters.
"Sonny texted me [the night before] and I said I've got an idea, for the huddle instead of doing it in the middle of the pitch, we'll go to do it over by the fans," said Maddison. "I think they appreciated that, just to show we're all together. They probably appreciated that just as much as we appreciated their support and sticking with us until the end. It was a nice idea for Sonny and got us off to a positive start."
Maddison and Romero are also clever appointments by Postecoglou. football.london reported last month that the England midfielder has been a breath of fresh air in the camp, making a point of bonding with everyone while showing them just how important he can be to the group on and off the pitch.
"He's been brilliant, he's been outstanding," Postecoglou said of Maddison to Sky after the win against Manchester United. "I think we got him at a brilliant time because he's always been a brilliant footballer but where he is in his life, he's really come in with this desire and ambition to be successful.
"You need those kind of characters because we've got a young group and he doesn't have any baggage in this club at all. He's come in with fresh eyes and just said 'well it's a massive club with a great stadium, great training facilities, we've got nothing to have our heads down for, let's go'. I thought he and Sonny were really good today, just leading the young boys."
With Romero, appointing the World Cup winner as a vice-captain gives a voice to the Spanish-speaking South American contingent at the club and also responsibility to a player who at times in recent seasons has been reckless in his approach to situations on the pitch. Yes, he had to come off after 14 minutes at Brentford after a clash of heads but it's not gone unnoticed that, while it's early days, Romero has been excellent across the 113 minutes of football he's played so far and has not a yellow card to his name yet.
For Son though, he is emerging as the leader at a time when Spurs needed a fresh voice and one who has bought entirely into the Postecoglou way.
"Sonny has great leadership qualities, both on and off the pitch, and is the ideal choice to become our new captain," said Postecoglou. "Everyone knows he is a world class player, and he has enormous respect from everyone in the dressing room. He transcends groups within the squad. That's not just because he's popular - it's because of what he has achieved in the game, both here and as captain of South Korea."
The 31-year-old may not have scored against United but his performance showed all of his experience, constantly talking to and encouraging the younger players around him and his partnership with 20-year-old Destiny Udogie has quickly flourished down the left-hand side.
Before the game, the team huddle took place again, this time near the centre of the pitch because they were surrounded by Spurs fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and after that both Son and Maddison went around separately to every Tottenham player, hugging and geeing them up for the game ahead.
After the final whistle, Son made a point of finding every single of this Spurs team-mates on the pitch to give them a hug and say a few words to them all, Pape Matar Sarr - who he calls 'Little Sonny' - getting plenty of encouragement after his goalscoring display.
It's not just the public displays that have shown how Son have stepped up, it is more in his everyday interactions with the squad and taking the captaincy on with the responsibility it brings that have impressed plenty within Hotspur Way.
Sungmo Lee, a South Korean reporter who has followed Son's journey with Spurs, told football.london just how much Postecoglou's decision would have impacted the player.
"It means a lot to Son for many reasons. Firstly it is a recognition for his contribution for Spurs for eight years so far which will give real motivation to him to give his best to repay the faith from his club and fans," he said. "Also, it means now he is the real leader and protagonist of the team with both Lloris and Kane out of the picture.
"Previously there was always Lloris and Kane ahead of Son in terms of longevity for Spurs which made them bigger in terms of leadership, but now Son needs to lead the team as the number one player in total terms of longevity and influence to the club. Both will give him more motivation to lead the team by example and performance this season."
And what does it mean to the people of South Korea to see their superstar with that Premier League armband?
"For Korean fans, it gives them a lot of pride that the captain of their national team is now also a captain of one of the leading football clubs in Europe," he said. "Korean fans feel the appointment was the right choice and they wish for Son to be a successful captain for himself and the club as well."
Son's captaincy represents part of the broom being swept through Tottenham right now by Postecoglou with a large number of departures expected before the transfer window comes to a close. The South Korean's leadership, like Postecoglou's football, also shows why you cannot truly know how something is going to work until you see it in operation.
Son has already stepped up to his new role and at a time when the leading figures at Spurs have looked to leave in recent months, it will be refreshing for the fans to see a captain and head coach so proud and delighted to be a part of their club and excited about what lies ahead.
"It's such a big honour to captain this huge club," said Son. "It was big surprise and a very proud moment. I've already said to the players that everyone should feel like a captain, on and off the pitch. It’s a new season, a fresh start and I will give everything for this shirt and this armband."
A new era has begun at Tottenham Hotspur, with new leaders and a new brand of football. Whatever happens next, Postecoglou and Son are going make sure everyone is going to enjoy themselves.