Kevin Danso explains how Son Heung-min surprised him the first time they spoke

Kevin Danso will take away six months of fond memories of Son Heung-min with none more surprising to him than the first time they met at Tottenham.

Danso was among those who hugged the South Korean star and formed a guard of honour for the tearful 33-year-old on Sunday as he came off the pitch at the Seoul World Cup Stadium just over an hour into his final appearance for Spurs.

Son is leaving the north London club after 10 years to move to a new life and league with Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer. He remained in Korea on Sunday night as his team-mates flew home to London and there were plenty of emotions on their faces as they left the popular captain in his homeland.

"Honestly, very sad. I can only imagine how he feels," Danso told football.london. "Absolute legend for everybody, not just at Tottenham Hotspur. Somebody who has been at a club for 10 years, achieved what we have achieved as a club. Everybody was sad to hear the news [that he was leaving], but can understand and respect his decision."

The first time the 26-year-old Austrian international defender met Son came soon after his February switch from Lens. He was struck by not only how down to earth the Premier League legend was but also his language skills.

So when you ask Danso what his favourite memory of Son is, he goes right back to that moment at the beginning of February.

"The first time I met him. He has been here for 10 years and his German is still so good. He came up to me and started talking in German to me. I was ‘like wow.’ The way he is around the changing room, he is just somebody you look up to. He is humble. Just everything that he does on and off the pitch. He is a role model," he said.

Son continued to use his German with Danso across the months and that bonded the two men, making it even sadder when the Korean told team-mates the news of his exit, shortly before football.london broke the story of it and then his press conference to confirm it to the world.

"We have a good relationship. He told us in the morning before the press conference. Sad news but for the person and for everything he has achieved, he could not have ended in a better way with winning the trophy," said the centre-back.

"I’ve grown up watching him. It kinds of feels like you have known him [for longer]. I saw him in Germany while he was playing there. When you think of him you think of him playing at Tottenham, scoring 10 plus goals every season. His partnership with Harry Kane, so many fond memories.

"To hear that he will be leaving is sad but I’m absolutely privileged to have played with him in the last few months. I wish him nothing but the best."

While Son's Tottenham adventure is coming to a close, Danso's is only just beginning. This summer his loan move from France automatically became permanent in a £21.8million deal.

At this point, it's worth pointing out that football.london is speaking to Danso in 34 degree-heat at the King Sejong statue in Seoul while the defender is wearing the full traditional Korean dress, the hanbok.

He is in a kingsman's garb including the hat, while his goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is nearby in the king's dress. There's something fitting about that as the Austrian must protect the Italian at all times on the football pitch.

It's roasting hot but Danso does not have even a single bead of sweet forming on his brow, just a big smile on his face as he speaks about his new head coach Thomas Frank and the Dane's focus on certain defensive aspects including blocking and tackling drills where all the players must protect a number of mini-goals from shots coming from all directions.

"It’s brilliant. We have been enjoying every moment of it. It’s something exciting. It’s always exciting when it’s a new start. New ideas and everybody is trying to take it in their stride as much as possible. We are just looking to improve on what we did last season," he said.

"You can see from the way we play the work ethic and you have seen some of the training videos [of players throwing themselves in the way of shots]. I wasn’t here last pre-season but it’s been a tough pre-season. A lot of running and hard work. We try to implement that in our game and the way we play."

He added: "That’s fun for me, as a defender it’s something I love to do that. You have seen the defending and blocking clips. That’s all a bit of fun as well as actual tactical work. For me, it’s about taking it every moment step by step and enjoying it."

But what of those 1km runs at speed that have left the players exhausted on the ground afterwards? Surely they're not as fun?

"Tough! It was my first time doing something like that. Very tough but good," said the Austrian.

There were also long throw auditions in the early days of this summer's pre-season training with Frank often utilising that as a weapon at Brentford, although it is yet to be seen in a match at Tottenham.

There was social media chatter that Danso had won the audition. He played that down but the powerful defender admitted he's got a good distance in him when he hurls the ball.

"I've got a long throw. I'm not sure if I won, but I have had a long throw for as long as I can remember," he said. "At previous clubs I have been taking throw-ins and stuff like that. It’s an additional secret weapon.

"Quite a few of the lads had long throws though. Ben Davies was really good."

Danso was born in Austria to Ghanaian parents before moving to Milton Keynes at just six-years-old and then later to France to play for three-and-a-half years at Lens, which means he can speak a string of different languages,

He has been looking after a new arrival at Spurs in Mohammed Kudus with the two men both speaking the Twi dialect from their Ghanaian roots. The 24-year-old has already impressed Frank and the Tottenham fans and Danso is also fully on board the Kudus hype train.

"Everybody has seen his quality in the Premier League in the last two seasons. Just amazing player, amazing guy. Really quiet, just keeps himself to himself. We have a good relationship," he said.

"I have a Ghanaian background and he plays for Ghana. So we get along quite well and sit next to each other most of the time. He is a great guy. Everybody has seen his quality already in the few games he has played at Spurs. An amazing player and guy."

He added: "I've tried to help him settle as much as possible. When I got here, everybody made it really easy and it’s the same with him. It’s always good to have somebody who speaks the same language as you, a bit more familiar with the current club you’re at and that’s what I try to be. Make it easy for him as much as it was easy for me."

Ask Danso to name the defenders he has learned from over the years and you'll get an answer that will go down well with Tottenham fans.

"Definitely you have got Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Ledley King. Growing up watching him. It’s an honour to be here following in their footsteps and I'll try my best to leave a legacy as much as they did," he said.

So what does this season require after one that brought the club's first trophy in 17 years but also a 17th-place finish in the Premier League?

"To build on last year. The aim is to win and become a winning club. It’s everybody’s goal at the club and the new manager's goal as well. We are going to try our best to be better in the league and try to win more trophies," he said.

"My personal goal is the same. To win trophies with Spurs and play as much as possible. Just win trophies, that is the most important thing. That is what this massive club deserves and needs."

An immediate chance to win another trophy arrives next week with the trip to Udine to play Champions League winners PSG in the UEFA Super Cup and Danso cannot wait.

"We have a massive opportunity and we are preparing really well," he said. "It’s a great opportunity for us to build on what we showed last year that we can win stuff. That’s the absolute goal for this club because that's what it deserves."

Kevin Danso was speaking at the King Sejong statue dressed in the traditional Korean dress, the hanbok, during a cultural tour of Seoul on Tottenham Hotspur’s pre season tour of Asia