Spirits were further dampened when Kane was sold to Bayern Munich on the eve of the season and it was clear Daniel Levy was not going to reinvest the €110 million fee immediately in a replacement.
Ange Postecoglou soldiered on, however, stuck to his bold attacking system and blooded players such as Micky Van de Ven, Destiny Udogie and Guglielmo Vicario. The results were remarkable, as Tottenham topped the league by November on a run of eight wins from their first ten games and those previously little-known players caught the eye.
Kane's scoring prowess was replaced by goals from defenders, midfielders and forwards, although no-one replicated his role as a powerful number nine, able to hold up the ball, bring others into play, set up chances and score with his head and both feet. Heung Min Son stood in for long spells, and scored goals, but the Korean is best coming in from the flanks. Richarlison wore the number nine shirt in an injury-hit season, and although he had a remarkable run of nine goals in ten games either side of Christmas, he only scored two other goals all season, as Spurs tailed off and finished in fifth, outside the Champions League qualification that had looked inevitable for most of the season.
Postecoglou's squad was never deep enough to cope with the injuries and suspensions that started to pile up after their first defeat of the season, 4-1 at home to Chelsea in November when Udogie and Cristian Romero were sent off. It began a run of four defeats in five games, and Spurs hardly managed to put two successive wins together for the rest of the season. They were not helped by Son's mid-season absence at the Asian Cup with South Korea, returning after five weeks with a broken thumb after a ding-dong playing ping-pong with a team-mate. He'd scored 12 goals by Christmas, but only five more thereafter.
At the same time, midfielder pairing Pape Mata Sarr and Yves Bissouma spent a month at the African Cup of Nations, where the latter contracted malaria, and neither recaptured their previously sparkling form. By May, the early-season optimism at Tottenham had disappeared and Postecoglou and his players looked jaded.
Now, though, there is genuine belief around the club with the arrival of Solanke and two exciting young players in Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray. The latter, one of the most highly-rated teenagers in England, arrived from Leeds for €40m, and Bergvall turned down Barcelona to join Spurs from Djurgaden in his native Sweden. Both may make the sort of instant impact Van de Ven and Udogie did last year.
Most importantly, though, Solanke will fill a Kane-sized hole in attack. The former Chelsea trainee, who struggled at Liverpool before rediscovering his form at Bournemouth, cost Spurs a fee that could rise to a club record €75m. It will be money well spent if he can help them into the top four, and his style and statistics suggest he is perfect fit for Postecoglou's team, which is based on high pressing, fast-paced, front-foot play. The number of chances they create is among the highest in the league, but their conversion rate is poor by comparison.
Postecoglou likes his full-backs to go infield while attacking, creating space for his wingers to beat their markers and fire in crosses. That requires a penalty-box predator, someone with good movement who is powerful in the air, can finish with both feet and whose presence can be relied on in that narrow corridor between the width of the goalposts, from six to 18 yards away from goal. That is what Kane used to do for Tottenham – it was another story with England, who operated without traditional wingers – and it is exactly what Solanke thrives on.
While Postecoglou dismisses the idea Solanke is the final piece in his 'jigsaw', and even suggested last week that there are more signings to come, he is full of praise for a player he identified some time ago as the perfect fit for his team.
“He was obviously one I was very keen to get in,” said the Australian coach last week. “It took a while to get it over the line but I think he will be a great fit for us in terms of the player he is and the point of his career where he is at.
“We are a bit light in that front third in terms of adding quality not just to the squad but also to our team. He certainly does that. I'm pleased to get him on board.
“We identified him because he has the attributes we are looking for in terms of that position. He gives us some things we probably have been missing in the last 12 months, particularly when Richarlison was out last year. When Richy played he was very effective for us, it was quite evident when he was out we didn’t really have a player who can make the impact Dom can in the final third and just with his general play. So I think he will be a good fit for us.”
Solanke's stats for closing down defenders and goalkeepers were among the highest in the Premier League last season, a fact that can be attributed to his development under Andoni Ireola at Bournemouth.
He also had a good record of headed clearances when defending set-pieces, another thing Tottenham have missed since Kane's departure. Without the big England captain's presence at the near post, Spurs conceded a disproportionately high number of goals from corners and free-kicks last season. Solanke can help in that respect, and goalkeeper Vicario has said he had a steep learning curve after arriving from Empoli last summer.
“There are some situations you have to face where maybe it takes a bit more time for you to adapt,” Vicario said. “I can say the set pieces, maybe also the strength of the players and the speed of some of the attacking play.
“You have to remain confident in yourself, believe in your process, and then train hard to get better and better. With a lot of work, not just from me but with the team, we can overcome these problems.”
It will not be a stroll in the park for Tottenham, of course. One area still to address is in central midfield, where Postecoglou wanted Conor Gallagher to replace the departed Pierre Emile Hjojberg. The England player's move to Atletico Madrid is still in doubt, but whether Chelsea would sell to Spurs is another question.
And unlike last season, they will have the added demands of European competition in the Europa League, which will be taken seriously as an alternative route to Champions League qualification, especially now that there will no longer be third-placed sides dropping in from the group stages of the senior competition after Christmas.
But Postecoglou now has more depth, he and his players have had a full year getting to grips with his system, and there is a younger, more energetic profile to this squad. Barring major injuries to key players, top four and a trophy should be their ambition.
And Solanke could be the key.
