Dominic Solanke has endured an exhilarating first two months at Tottenham following his £65million move from Bournemouth. On his debut for Spurs against Leicester, Solanke was very bright, though he was unable to find the back of the net from several attempts at goal with an unfortunate injury then striking.
Ange Postecoglou's new signing then missed games against Everton and Newcastle, with the Lilywhites particularly missing his presence in the defeat to the latter. His return arrived against Arsenal, and he has now found the back of the net in each of his last three appearances, with Postecoglou full of praise for his recent displays.
"He got injured really early in the game at Leicester and then proceeded to miss a couple, so for him it's probably been a little bit frustrating, but I knew what we were bringing to the football club," Postecoglou admitted earlier this week. "I was really confident that the way we play and his attributes that he was going to be a great fit."
"I could see that from the first day of training, but we had to be patient. He's getting up there now in terms of physical fitness, I think every game he looks like he's getting stronger. It's a demanding role up front for us, it's not just about goals, it’s about his link-up play and pressing.
"We've put a fair amount of workload on him.. Obviously the goals help. He's a striker. He wants to score goals and that helps him to feel better about the beginning of his career here." Asked about the possibility of an England call-up, Postecoglou added: "There are no issues around him from a physical perspective.
"I get enough stick for my own selections, mate so I am not going to get involved in anyone else's selections, but yeah Dom is fine." Though his goals could all be considered easy finishes, his movement to get into those positions has been key and it appears interim head coach Lee Carsley has taken notice of exactly that.
On Thursday, Solanke was named in his Three Lions squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures against Greece and Finland. If the 27-year-old features over the international break, it will not be his debut with that arriving seven years ago, and the man himself has paid tribute to that in his reaction to being selected on social media.
Alongside a picture of him making his first appearance for his country, he captioned the Instagram post: "It's been a while! [grinning face with sweat emoji]. Delighted to be called up to represent my country again [lion and white heart emoji]."
While Solanke absolutely deserves this opportunity given his performances over the last 12 months, Postecoglou will be fearful of the worst happening. Former Spurs star Harry Kane will likely play most of the two games, but Solanke could still feature, and with that, the possibility of injury striking is a scenario that could play out.
Given Postecoglou's recent comments about his physical condition and interrupted start to the season, he may pick up a fresh injury, and that would be a disaster for Tottenham.
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