Everton have been linked with a summer transfer move for Tottenham Hotspur winger Manor Solomon who is currently on loan at Leeds United
Having plucked the likes of Tim Cahill and Joleon Lescott out of the Championship to become Premier League stars at Everton first time around, could David Moyes repeat the trick with on-loan Leeds United star Manor Solomon? A report from GiveMeSport has claimed that the Blues are keen on signing the winger this summer with parent club Tottenham Hotspur ready to cash in for a £15m fee.
After first turning out in England on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk at Fulham in the 2022/23 season, scoring five times in 24 appearances, the Israeli international – who has netted on seven occasions in 41 outings for his country – joined Spurs on a free transfer on July 11, 2023, as the north London outfit took advantage of him becoming a free agent thanks to an extended compensation year by FIFA ruling in favour of overseas players in the Ukrainian leagues.
Solomon only turned out half a dozen times for Ange Postecoglu’s side last term and made the season-long switch to Elland Road on August 27, 2024.
So far, he has scored seven goals in 27 matches in the Championship for Daniel Farke’s table-toppers and the Yorkshire club are keen to retain his services if they win promotion to the Premier League. However, the opportunity to play for Everton at their new 52,888 capacity stadium could be an enticing prospect if they come calling.
Just what kind of player is Solomon then? Primarily operating on the left flank, Comparisonator calculate that Nottingham Forest’s Callum Hudson-Odoi (86%) is the closest Premier League player to him in style followed by Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal (74%) and Kaoru Mitoma of Brighton & Hove Albion (72%).
Using Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool, in terms of successful pass percentage, correlating Solomon’s statistics from the Championship this season against his Premier League peers, only Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey (87%) can top the Leeds player’s figure (86%) for percentage of successful passes - a figure that matches Liverpool’s Luis Diaz. Solomon’s 1.04 successful crosses per 90 minutes would place him sixth in the Premier League in a category topped by a previous Moyes buy, Mohamed Kudus of West Ham United (1.8).
He’d also be ranked sixth for assists (0.26), where Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga leads the way (0.56); fifth for dribbles (5.74), which is slightly more than Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye (5.67), behind leader Jeremy Doku of Manchester City (9.77), but he’d drop to ninth for successful dribbles (3.19), behind both Doku in top spot (6.23) and Ndiaye in fifth on 3.5. Solomon would also make the top 10 for successful link-up plays (eighth on 2.3), with Matheus Cunha of Wolverhampton Wanderers first on 3.24, and shot assists (ninth on 1.19) as Anthony Gordon of Newcastle United is top on 2.
Solomon’s numbers appear encouraging given that two of Everton’s current wingers, Jesper Lindstrom, on loan from Napoli, and Jack Harrison, ironically on loan from Leeds, have either a goal or an assist between them so far this season. Moving up from the Championship to the Premier League is a considerable step, but his spell with the Cottagers shows he can operate at that level.
Given the expectations required following the move to the Mersey waterfront and takeover by The Friedkin Group, Moyes needs someone who can hit the ground running. Turning 26 on July 24, Solomon should be at the peak of his powers and would be slightly older than either Cahill (24) or Lescott (23) were when they swapped English football’s second tier with Millwall and Wolves respectively for Goodison Park.