Two late goals from Sporting Lisbon condemned Tottenham to a defeat in their Champions League group game at the Jose Alvalade Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Son’s struggles continued in Lisbon and the Korean looked poor again as he continued the search for his first goal of the season for Tottenham.
Burley stressed that Conte desperately needs the South Korean to get back to form despite the options he has on the bench.
He admitted that the situation is better than last season as the Tottenham boss has replacements for Son and players such as Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Moura can come into the team.
However, the former midfielder insisted that none of those players is at the level of Son when he is on song.
Burley said on ESPN FC: “Heung-Min Son was poor again, just didn’t play really well and is out of form.
“He [Conte] desperately needs him to get back [to form].
“I know it’s better than last year because he has replacements.
“Kulusevski is on the bench, he can play and him and Richarlison can play behind Kane, Lucas Moura can play and they have options.
“But none of those options are up to the standard of an on-form Heung-Min Son.”
Son scored 24 times in all competitions for Spurs last season but has been struggling to find rhythm in the ongoing campaign.
