Son Heung-min is in unstoppable form for Tottenham... but he may be chopped down in his prime and forced to serve in the South Korean army

• Son Heung-min has scored five goals in five games for Tottenham
• But he may have to leave the club for nearly two years for military service
• Son, now 24, must start 21 months of service before he turns 28
• Failure to serve the term without exemption leads to imprisonment 
• Footballers have previously been exempt for national team achievements

There is little stopping Son Heung-min at the moment — except, possibly, the South Korean army.

Five goals in five games this season, a Champions League winner on Tuesday night, a double to down Middlesbrough three days before.

Without Harry Kane, out for several weeks with an ankle ligament injury, one questioned where Tottenham’s goals were going to come from. Turns out that is from a player who considered moving back to Germany in the summer, to where he had played all of his professional football before moving to north London a year ago.

And if Son can exhibit the kind of goal-scoring form which earned him the nickname ‘Sonaldo’ at former club Bayer Leverkusen — for his likeness to Cristiano Ronaldo, in case you were wondering — then they have no further to look.

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Why is it, then, that as the years creep on for the 24-year-old and he transcends to the peak of his powers his valuation will depreciate by the day? 

As it stands, by the age of 28 he must start 21 months of mandatory military service, missing almost two years at a time when Tottenham, if their trajectory continues under Mauricio Pochettino, could be challenging for Premier League titles and in Europe on a regular basis.

Son will be forced to swap a multi-million-pound contract for a maximum of roughly £130-per-month, if he makes it to the highest rank of Sergeant, and draft dodging is not tolerated. It has consumed famous actors, rappers, singers and most South Korean celebrities decide it is better to get it out of the way than avoid it. Failure to serve without exemption leads to imprisonment.

SON HEUNG-MIN'S CAREER

2010-13: Hamburg (73 games 20 goals)

2013-15: Leverkusen (78/26)

2015-: Tottenham (45/13)

Rapper MC Mong was accused of avoiding his military service by having teeth removed. He eventually received a six-month suspended sentence, a year’s probation and community service for deliberately delaying his enlistment. Pop singer Yoo Seung Jun became an American citizen to avoid his and was exiled from the country.

Yet in a weird, almost dystopian twist, South Korean footballers can play their way out of fighting for their country. This is The Hunger Games book four; everyone is up for consideration to fight, unless they are really good at sport.

Swansea midfielder Ki Sung-yueng missed the final game of last season due to serving four weeks of military duty. His term was significantly reduced for winning a bronze medal at London 2012, along with the rest of his team-mates. Park Ji-sung, formerly of Manchester United, and Lee Young-pyo, who also played for Spurs, were exempt after reaching the semi-final of the 2002 World Cup.

Gold in the Asian Games will do it. Victory in the Asian Cup will, too, and Son came so close in 2014 when he reached the final and even scored a last-minute equaliser against hosts Australia, but they lost in extra time. In Rio 2016 they were knocked out in the quarter-finals and he has a chance in the Asian Games in 2018 and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but time is running out and so are competitions.

Or he could turn to an alternative. Park Chu-young, who joined Arsenal in 2011 when he was 26, obtained a 10-year Monaco residency in 2012 to delay his conscription by a decade. He was part of Ki’s side who won an Olympic medal that year and won exemption anyway, but his reputation was still sullied back home.

Or he could be saved by a change in the political landscape. Politician Nam Kyung-pil says he will make the military voluntary if elected president.

If not, Son will be enlisted in the South Korean army at the peak of his Tottenham career.