Dominic Solanke joined Tottenham in early August in a move that raised eyebrows amongst fans for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the amount of time it took for Spurs to sign a much-needed striker had many convinced that their targets were busy at international tournaments, and so they had to wait for their return to their clubs. Yet Solanke wasn’t part of Gareth Southgate’s last-ever England squad at Euro 2024.
Another aspect that was questioned was the 27-year-old’s club-record £65 million price tag (transfermrkt). Yes, Solanke hit brilliant form in the campaign previous, scoring 19 goals and assisting three while appearing in all 38 Premier League matches for Bournemouth (WhoScored?). But that had been the first time Solanke finished a season with a league goal tally in double-figures outside of the Championship.
Ange Postecoglou’s man
So why did Spurs spend all that time and money on the signature of Dominic Solanke? Ange Postecoglou was desperate to bring him to North London.
When asked earlier in the season about the signing, Postecoglou said “The reality was that Dom is the one that I wanted. It took the whole summer to get him in, but he was the one that fitted the profile that we wanted.” (Daily Mail)
Postecoglou decided that Solanke was the perfect player to lead his attacking line, not only for his goalscoring ability, but also his ability to press intensely, his impressive fitness, and his comfortability in dropping back to win the ball back at times. And it’s fair to say Solanke has showcased all these strengths in a Tottenham shirt already.
Slow beginnings for Solanke
Solanke suffered something of a slow start to life at Tottenham, battling a lack of fitness and an ankle injury, the England international didn’t bag his first league goal until the end of September in a 3-1 victory over Brentford (transfermarkt).
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Postecoglou was quick to dispel any early criticism saying “People are just so quick to judge, mate. It’s a small sample,” when asked about his slow start (BBC).
Solanke’s improvement has been more than evident in the past few weeks. The striker has racked up seven goal contributions in 13 appearances for Tottenham so far this season. While there is certainly more room for improvement with those numbers, they aren’t in any way poor, and his eye for goals was certainly unleashed at the weekend against Aton Villa, his performance hailed as “unbelievable” by Ange Postecoglou (Irish Independent).
Off-the-ball brilliance
Where Solanke has shone the most in recent weeks is his work off the ball. It has been key in Tottenham’s attacking improvements this season. His ever-determined press gives a sharp edge to Spurs’ notorious high-line, while his ability to track back and turn the ball over quickly, not too unlike Harry Kane, has added to Spurs’ clinical counter-attacking tendencies.
While it can be argued that Tottenham’s slight improvements in set-piece defending this season, having only conceded directly from two, can partly be owed to the addition of Dominic Solanke’s dominating stature. It’s these strengths that have proved Solanke the valuable missing link that makes this Tottenham side their most effective.
The Difference a year can make
Spurs spent last season with a mixture of Heung-Min Son and Richarlison up front, scoring 29 goals between them (transfermarkt), but they lacked these off-the-ball strengths that Solanke now brings in heaps.
Last season, Postecoglou brought his high-pressing philosophy to Tottenham, but it was seen all too many times that if the opposition found a way to beat their press, Spurs would find themselves in trouble.
The addition of Solanke transforms the effectiveness of this pressing system, and if the press is beaten, teams are finding it harder to race off on the counterattack thanks to Solanke’s ability to track back with the rest of the team. What Dominic Solanke brings to Tottenham could quickly become invaluable as he has the ability to harden the structure of Postecoglou’s system.
Tottenham must be careful
While Dominic Solanke is quickly becoming one of the most important players at Tottenham, it’s pivotal that Spurs don’t overwork the former Bournemouth star. This became clear quite early on when Solanke came from the south-coast club having appeared in every single league game for them last season, only to pick up an ankle injury on his debut for Tottenham.
Spurs’ injury woes seen last season have certainly transferred over to this campaign with Son, Wilson Odobert, Cristian Romero, Mickey Van de Ven, and worryingly Richarlison all picking up injuries already this season.
Tottenham cannot risk losing Solanke for a long period of time given what he brings as they look to pick up consistent results throughout the Winter months. If Solanke can stay injury-free and continue performing, there is no doubt he can be one of the signings of the season.