Tottenham don't have a single striker with double-digit goals this season in league play. Their leading scorer is young winger Brennan Johnson with 11 in the Premier League, but he's not offering much outside of those well-timed tap-ins. Striker Dominic Solanke has struggled to replicate his 2023/24 goal-scoring with Bournemouth, Son Heung-min has been a huge disappointment this season, and Richarlison has been in more injury-related headlines than ones for his goals.
Although Spurs could be looking at another new striker on the summer 2025 transfer window, it looks like they may keep the faith in Solanke. The England international boosted his stock a week ago with a clutch performance against Bodo Glimt, scoring the opening goal to effectively seal Tottenham's position in the Europa League Final, where they will face Manchester United.
In a recent press conference, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said of Solanke, "Dom getting into those areas from set-pieces, again, he was in the right place. Big goal for us in the context of the game. Pleased for him. That’s why it’s important — it’s his first year at the club — I think he has been outstanding but again he has had his issues with unfortunate injuries, no fault of his own, but guys you can really build something around for the next few years.”
Tottenham seem to prefer Dominic Solanke to Richarlison
Although Postecoglou's own future at Tottenham is far from certain with Spurs languishing in 17th in the Premier League, the fact that they could win their first major trophy on May 21 in the Europa League Final could be enough to save his job with all the positive feelings that would emanate from such a victory.
And nonetheless, Postecoglou's opinion does matter. it's also shared by many fans and probably others in the building at Tottenham. Solanke has been fantastic in the Europa League campaign, and Tottenham probably wouldn't be in the Final if it weren't for him. His all-around play is as good as advertised, and while his goal-scoring has been subpar in the Premier League, you could say the same thing about others, such as club legend Son.
Postecoglou's vote of confidence in Solanke and direct admission that he's someone worth building around for the foreseeable future, especially if shared by other influential people at Tottenham, has to be taken as a negative when it comes to Richarlison's future at Tottenham.
Richarlison is more accomplished in the Premier League and came to Spurs the year before Solanke with just as much hype. However, he has never really settled in at Tottenham, and whlie he is the more talented player and a potentially explosive goal-scorer, he is so difficult to rely on because of the injuries. He also hasn't shown the big-game ability or hold-up play that Solanke does.
Already, Richarlison is being linked with a transfer to Everton, and if Postecoglou's comments are any indication, it seems like Tottenham are increasingly preferring Solanke, the more recent investment, to Richarlison. Both men are about the same age (Solanke is 27 and Richarlison 28) so the determining factor is which player the club is more likely to help the team. Solanke, due to his skill-set, may be a better role player, too, if Tottenham decide they only want to keep one of these veterans as a backup for a true top scoring No. 9 of the future.