TalkSPORT pundit Troy Deeney has explained why he thinks Tottenham Hotspur should've signed a £330,000-per-week striker instead of Dominic Solanke.
Solanke joins Tottenham from Bournemouth in £65 million deal
Over the summer transfer window, Spurs finally ended their year-long wait for Harry Kane's replacement - agreeing a £65 million deal to sign Solanke from Bournemouth after the Englishman's stellar 2023/2024 campaign.
Ange Postecoglou's side will pay an initial £55 million plus a further £10 million in add-ons for Solanke, who made his Premier League debut for them against Leicester City on the opening weekend.
The 26-year-old was Bournemouth's superstar player last term, scoring 21 goals in all competitions for the Cherries, plus an additional five assists. Solanke has been absent for their last two league games, having picked up an ankle injury at Leicester, but there is a chance he could feature against Arsenal in the north London derby right after this international break.
"Dom is close but we're going to be a bit cautious with him," said Postecoglou in an update on Solanke before Spurs' loss to Newcastle.
"We've got a big programme post the international break, so he'll miss out.”
Supporters will be eager to see Solanke kick-on and show the kind of form he did for Bournemouth last season, and at the earliest opportunity, with Tottenham's signing of the forward praised by Jermain Defoe.
“It is not a move that has surprised me," said Defoe on talkSPORT.
"Going off his form last season, the amount of goals he scored and if you look at the way Ange wants to play, he suits that Tottenham role. He’s got a lot of energy, he’s almost an old-school number nine who makes a lot of runs in behind. He also presses high which is one of Ange’s principles. I think he will score a lot of goals in that Tottenham team, I’m happy for him.
“I hope he gets his first goal soon because as a centre-forward, you know, confidence is massive. I hope he doesn’t think about the fee too much, but in terms of his ability, he showed last season that he’s someone that can score goals consistently and I am looking forward to seeing how he does.”
Troy Deeney explains why Tottenham should've signed Ivan Toney
While Solanke's move has been praised by many, there are others like TalkSPORT's Deeney who believe that Tottenham should've gone for Ivan Toney instead.
Toney was heavily linked with a move to Spurs in the summer, but the striker, now on £330,000-per-week at Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, was forced to agree a late switch to the Middle East or stay at Brentford.
However, Deeney is convinced that Toney would've been a better striker for Tottenham than Solanke.
“Ivan Toney was available," said Deeney on the Seaman Says podcast. "Let’s use him as a case in point. Would he add value to Chelsea? Yes, he would score more than Nicolas Jackson. In my opinion he would score more than Solanke at Spurs. Everyone is looking for that mobile, running striker, the goalscoring comes like fifth in the list of attributes."