Dominic Solanke has had plenty of world-class teammates but has revealed that the best finisher he has seen is a no-brainer. The striker became a club-record signing for Tottenham Hotspur this summer but is used to high-profile pressure, having previously played for Chelsea and Liverpool.
The 27-year-old was a wonderkid during his time in Chelsea’s academy and was tipped for superstardom by Jose Mourinho a decade ago. Solanke made just one appearance for the Blues before joining Liverpool at the end of his contract in 2017, featuring 27 times for Jurgen Klopp’s side but scoring only once in his sole season at Anfield.
It took Solanke a while to truly showcase his talent at Bournemouth but he had an ideal grounding, being on the fringes at Premier League champions Chelsea and learning from Champions League finalists Liverpool. The England international has trained with plenty of elite stars - but believes Harry Kane is better than all of his former teammates.
Asked about the best finisher he had seen, Solanke told Sky Sports: “Obviously Harry Kane. His finishing is just one of the best-ever. We see that all the time and his finishing is just incredible.”
That is a huge compliment to the England captain, given that Solanke was teammates with Mohmed Salah and the rest of Liverpool’s formidable forward line. During his time with Chelsea, Solanke also regularly watched Eden Hazard, Didier Drogba, and Diego Costa put through their paces at Cobham.
Solanke will hope to be the striker that can inspire Ange Postecoglou’s side to win an elusive trophy, as well as replicating a degree of the success that Kane achieved in a Spurs shirt, with the England captain scoring 280 goals in 435 games. While one-time England international Solanke will hope to link up with the Three Lions skipper in the future, the forward has been bowled over by Son Heung-min’s levels in training.
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“It’s something so rare to be that good on right foot and left foot, not many players in the world can do that,” Solanke explained. “To be that two-footed and be great at finishing with both of them is incredible. He’s a great leader, one of the nicest guys I’ve met, to be honest. On the pitch, you see what he does on the weekends and it’s exactly the same in training.”
At the other end of the pitch, Solanke named his former Liverpool teammate Virgil van Dijk as the toughest defender he has faced in his career. The forward was prolific for Bournemouth last term, netting 19 league goals, and daily battles with the Liverpool skipper would have helped a young Solanke hone his skills.
“He’s just got everything, big, strong, good on the ball, agressive,” Solanke added. “I think he’s definitely one of the best defenders in our time and I’d say he’s probably the most difficult.”