Dominic Solanke says it is a joy to play in Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham system and has explained how he learned important traits from Didier Drogba as a youngster.
The 27-year-old striker made the £65million move to Spurs from Bournemouth in the summer, making him the most expensive signing within the Premier League during the window. After an early injury disrupted his start to life in north London, Solanke has quickly found his groove in Postecoglou's set-up and has recorded eight goals involvements in his first 12 matches in the Premier League and Europa League, with six goals and two assists.
In a new interview this week with Men in Blazers, Solanke spoke about life at Spurs with Postecoglou and their shared ambitions for the coming seasons at the club. Solanke's captain at Tottenham, Son Heung-min, had previously been interviewed by the channel and said that the Australian made him feel like an excited child again because of his passion for the game.
"He's a great manager, probably a bit like what Sonny said, that his passion for the game is incredible. The way he likes to play definitely suits me and other forward players," said Solanke. "He doesn't really put too much pressure on us other than just playing freely and having attacking football. Obviously, he likes us to press and work hard, so that's an important side to the game as well. It's a joy to play in the system."
When Solanke joined Spurs, he said that the club had ambitions that matched his own and he went into more detail about that in this latest interview.
"I think the main thing for us is winning stuff. Over the last few years, that's the missing piece for the club. Obviously it's a great club and everyone knows how big of a club it is," he said. "But I think we need to be winning stuff now and and that's something I want to be part of, something that the gaffer wants to be part of as well, and and I'm sure everyone in the club wants to be a part of. So we're all on the same wavelength to try and make that happen and hopefully we can do that as soon as possible.
"For myself [on a personal level], it's just the same. Try to score as many goals as I can help the team win stuff. I think I'm at that point in my career where everyone wants to win stuff, and that's what you play football for. So that's the main thing on my mind."
As well as Solanke's varied threat in front of goal, with three very different finishes in his past two matches against Aston Villa and Galatasaray, the England international's incredible work rate and pressing has not gone unnoticed and he says it's just part of his makeup as a footballer.
"It's definitely an important part of my game, something I've done my whole life really, but I think, especially in football, you're always working, especially when you're coming up against top teams, and it definitely helps," he explained. "The way that we play here it's really important with the way we press. So it's something that's a given for me."
So how does Solanke judge a successful 90 minutes or so on the pitch when that final whistle blows?
"There's a lot of different ways. I think mainly we get a win," he said "That's always the most important thing in football, but personally, scoring is the main thing that will make me feel good after the game. As long as I help the team in any way, as long as we're getting the win, I think I'm going to be happy after."
Solanke has had plenty of experience in his career, coming through at Chelsea, playing on loan in the Netherlands at Vitesse, before moving to Liverpool, then Bournemouth and now Tottenham. One aspect of his early years with the Blues that shaped him was playing with his hero Didier Drogba.
"He was definitely my main idol back then, watching all the games, going to the home games at the stadium and he was obviously the main guy, scoring all the goals," he said. "Me being a striker. He was someone I always looked up to. So to have the chance to train and play with him and just see him every day, see how he trains and stuff. It was really good for my career."
On what lessons he took from the Ivory Coast star, he said: "I think just the way that he handled all the pressure of it. Obviously he was the guy that got the goals, his confidence and his aura."
Tottenham fans are hoping that Solanke continues to channel that confidence and aura as the man who brings the goals for them and fires them to success.
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