Son Heung-min turned down the chance to play under Jurgen Klopp over fears he would miss out on regular first-team football under the German.

The pair meet on Sunday afternoon as Liverpool face Tottenham at Anfield in a match both sides need to win to keep their hopes of Champions League qualification alive. As well as Harry Kane, Son will be Spurs’ biggest attacking threat, with the Korean boasting an excellent record against the Reds.

Had things turned out differently, the 30-year-old could have played under Klopp earlier in his career. Klopp wanted to sign Son, then of Hamburg, during his time at Borussia Dortmund but the talented forward opted to join Bayer Leverkusen in a €10m deal instead.

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“I wanted to stay in the Bundesliga,” Son later said of the 2013 transfer. “Leverkusen and Dortmund wanted me. Both teams play in the Champions League but I thought Dortmund would use rotation more than Leverkusen. That’s why I chose Leverkusen over Dortmund. It’s really important to play regularly at my age.”

Klopp reflected on missing out on Son in an interview last year, calling it one of his biggest regrets in football.

“One of the biggest mistakes in my life is not signing Son Heung-min,” he told Korean outlet KBS News. “Outstanding player. He is fantastic, a sign of Korean football and one of the best strikers in the world.”

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Missing out on Son Heung-min is one of Jurgen Klopp’s biggest regrets in football

(Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Son starts against Liverpool as interim Spurs boss Ryan Mason makes two changes to the side which fought back to draw 2-2 with Manchester United on Thursday night.

Richarlison drops to the bench as Dejan Kulusevski starts for the visitors. The other change sees Ben Davies come in for Clement Lenglet at the back. Fraser Forster continues in goal in the place of Hugo Lloris, who was injured in last weekend’s 6-1 drubbing at Newcastle.

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