Tottenham Hotspur supporters are anxiously waiting for news on the next forward signings at the club, because Spurs desperately need a new starting left winger and a new starting striker who can actually bring goals to the club. Spurs never came close to replacing Son Heung-min or Harry Kane. They did not sign a single left winger after Son left last summer for MLS, and their so called Kane replacement, Dominic Solanke, has proven to be a waste of 65 million pounds.
After Richarlison scored a late winner in the friendly rivalry fixture against Chelsea, Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi praised last season's leading Premier League goal scorer for Spurs and seemed to open the door for him staying despite years of rumors indicating that the club have been trying to sell him to Turkey or Saudi Arabia.
While Tottenham could potentially keep Richarlison and Solanke, whom De Zerbi did praise last season when he first took the job over, the reality is that one of them probably needs to be sacrificed in order to make way for a big signing. Tottenham fans are dreaming of bringing Victor Osimhen back to one of Europe's top five leagues, while De Zerbi's allegiance is rumored to be converting Liverpool's Cody Gakpo from a left winger to a center forward.
Dominic Solanke does not sniff out the goals
Either way, Dominic Solanke is under a microscope, and after coming to Tottenham for a then record 65 million pound fee in 2024, his 19 goal season at Bournemouth in 2023/24 is looking more and more like a fluke. Solanke has done little to prove that his 2023/24 season was nothing more than a one shot wonder, and even the supposed merits of signing him as an all arounder have not popped up at N17 - hence why De Zerbi may be looking at an actual all around CF like Gakpo.
The biggest problem with Solanke as a striker is that he does not sniff out the goals, for lack of a better word. A great striker needs to know how to be in the right place at the right time and consistently work for goals. Richarlison is far from the best poacher, but even he is able to scope out chances, such as when he was in the right place at the right time for the late winner against Chelsea.
You never really see that from Solanke, though, which is why he has only scored 12 goals in 3,200 Premier League minutes since arriving at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. And he only has a few assists, too, negating the all around impact benefits. Solanke lacks that killer instinct, off ball prowess, and fox in the box mentality a top striker needs to have in the Premier League, and maybe De Zerbi and Spurs are finally coming to that realization in 2026.
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