South Korea pledge to help Tottenham title charge by not calling up Son Heung-Min for internationals

South Korea will not call Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-Min up for international friendlies in March, but hope to come to an agreement with the north Londoners that will see them release him for the Olympics.

Spurs are in the thick of their first real title battle of the Premier League era with victory over Aston Villa on Sunday 13 March lifting them into within two points of leaders Leicester City.

Following next week's round of games there is an international break in the final week of March with South Korea in action against Lebanon and Kuwait in World Cup qualifiers – games Son, capped 46 times for his country, would almost certainly feature in.

Head coach Uli Stielike however says the club will look to do Spurs a favour and ensure the forward remains in north London that week, but want the club to return the favour by granting the player permission to represent his country in Rio de Janeiro this summer.

"We've asked Tottenham to make Son available for the Olympics as a wild card, and in exchange, we offered not to select him for matches in March," Stielike said, The National report.

"Tottenham are in a battle for the Premier League title. Since our association is being considerate of the club, we hope they will give us a positive response."

Countries competing at the Olympic tournament this summer are restricted to including players under the age of 23. Son, who turns 24 in July, is not eligible for that selection, but can be one of three over-23 players who can also be included in the squad as wildcards. Son joined Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen, scoring four goals for the club this season.

Tottenham are still hoping to dislodge Leicester at the Premier League summit but saw their Europa League hopes left in tatters after they were thrashed 3-0 by Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their last 16 clash. Mauricio Pochettino's side welcome the Bundesliga club to White Hart Lane for the return leg on Thursday 17 March.