After the departure of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich was confirmed this week, Tottenham Hotspur have made their decision on who will be the club's new captain for the forthcoming Premier League season.

Kane left for Germany for an initial fee of £86m, with add-ons taking the total fee to almost £100m. He made his debut in Saturday night's German Super Cup defeat to RB Leipzig, coming off the bench in the second half with the score already at 2-0. They eventually lost the game 3-0.

After the transfer was finally completed, following weeks of strenous and tough negotiations, Spurs have appointed a new captain ahead of their season opener against Brentford. With outgoing captain Hugo Lloris set to leave the club after years of service, Son Heung-min has been given the armband, with new signing James Maddison and Cristian Romero named as the new vice-captains.

Son becomes Tottenham's new captain

Son, 31, takes over the captain's armband from Hugo Lloris, who first captained the team during the 2014/15 season and was named skipper for the start of 2015/16. The midfielder will be a popular appointment among Spurs fans, having become a hugely influential and very well-liked figure at the club since joining from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, scoring 145 goals in 372 total appearances and forming one of the most devastating attacking partnerships in Premier League history alongside Kane.

Son said: “It’s such a big honour to captain this huge club. 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."

Ange Postecoglou's speech to Spurs players

Head coach Ange Postecoglu spoke to the rest of the team yesterday afternoon ahead of their season opener with Brentford, and he reminded the players of their responsibilities, before then addressing the news of Kane's departure and then announcing Son as the new club captain.

Spurs shared footage of the moment it was announced on Twitter in which Postecoglou's hair-raising speech had the squad eating out the palm of his hand. In the clip he's heard saying: "We need some leadership within that group with the new season coming and I've made the decision that Sonny will be our new captain for this next year, mate, so congratulations."

Postecoglou then continued: "Leadership is not just him (Son), we've got experienced players within this group. You know what it looks like, know what we need to do. It's not just about the character, leadership can come from the youngest players in the team.

"Leadership is about behaviour, that's it. The example you set. If you train well, do something in the game, that's it. It's not just about leadership, it's about everyone buying into it."

Postecoglou left Celtic for Spurs earlier this summer and his direct and transparent approach to management has captured fans' attentions. The cut of Postecoglou's jib, as well as the all-action brand of football that has been on show in pre-season, has already made him a popular figure.

New captain Son has vowed to put 100% into everything he does as captain, and he is certainly no stranger to wearing the captain's armband in his career.

There is a clear acknowledgement that the team will miss Kane, of course, but there is a feeling the overall spirit could be better with greater responsibility across the board rather than a perceived reliance on one player. There is new found optimism across the squad, with the new captaincy team in place.

Postecoglou said later on: “Sonny has great leadership qualities, both on and off the pitch, and is the ideal choice to become our new captain. I’m looking forward to working with him. I look at him and he’s pretty much a conduit for the whole squad. He mixes in all groups. I don’t think it’s just because he’s popular. What he’s done in the game he has a certain standing in the game.

“It’s good to see that influence on the group. He’s got a massive influence on the group which doesn’t surprise me because I know he’s a leader for his nation and he’s been an icon for his nation for a long time. 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.

”He carries that really well for someone who has been in the spotlight for that long. He has enormous respect among the players. Everyone knows he is a world class player, and he has enormous respect from everyone in the dressing room."

Since arriving in north London, Son has definitely been making a name for himself. He was the scorer of the first Premier League and Champions League goals at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, he was the winner of the 2019/20 FIFA Puskas Award for his wonder goal against Burnley in December 2019, and he added the Premier League's Golden Boot to his long list of achievements with 23 goals in 2021/22. Last season, he became the first Asian to score 100 goals in the Premier League.

SpursWeb noted that someone who might not be 100% on board with the new captaincy team is Eric Dier, who could perhaps feel slightly aggrieved that he was overlooked for the vice-captaincy role in place of Romero and Maddison, despite wearing the armband himself on a few occasions.

Kane, despite not being the official club captain, had worn the armband in Spurs' pre-season friendlies, and it was expected that he would be handed the armband full-time, before his exit to Bayern.

Chairman Daniel Levy said: “We sought over a long period of time to engage Harry and his representatives in several forms of contract extension, both short and long term. Harry was clear, however, that he wanted a fresh challenge and would not be signing a new contract this summer. We have reluctantly, therefore, agreed to his transfer.

“We have seen a product of our Academy system become one of the best players to ever pull on a Spurs shirt and become one of world football’s elite strikers. It has been a truly remarkable journey."