Tottenham Hotspur striker Dominic Solanke took full advantage of Richarlison's literal slips against Brentford on Matchday 1, scoring and turning in a strong all around performance as a key part of Spurs impressive 5-1 victory over Charlton Athletic in the Second Round of the League Cup.
A brief period of great form aside in early 2026, Solanke has been a pretty big disappointment for Tottenham thus far after being a record 65 million pound signing from Bournemouth in the summer 2024 transfer window, failing to come anywhere close to the career high 19 goals he scored for the Cherries in the 2023/24 season.
Solanke has always been a man of "What ifs?" throughout his entire career, including now at Tottenham. He was a great striker prospect for Liverpool and Chelsea as a youngster, supposed to be destined for great things. And then at Bournemouth, many thought he had finally bloomed late to reach his potential as a world class striker in English football, which is why Spurs spent so much to sign him not long after letting club legend Harry Kane spread his wings to German giants Bayern Munich.
Dominic Solanke still has believers
But the "ifs" are truly that tantalizing, and in glimpses, Solanke shows the sort of all around quality at the 9 that could, in theory, make him honestly one of Europe's best if he were to lock in and play at a high level for a full season and not just a few games here and there.
Roberto De Zerbi has made it no secret on multiple occasions that he is a big fan of Solanke's and wants to see the England international unleashed for an extended period. Now that may be tougher to do so as Solanke is not fully reliable with injuries and inconsistent play while minutes will be harder to come by with Omar Marmoush joining the team and Cody Gakpo still on the radar as a potential center forward option.
But again, Dominic Solanke, fulfilling his "ifs" and being all that he can be would actually stand out as good of an option at the striker position as any of those. As Solanke showed against Charlton, he is a player who can bring goals, physicality, chance creation, and a tactical reference point as an anchoring 9. Spurs still believe in Solanke rebounding and checking off the boxes, and maybe his performance against Charlton was a step in the right direction.
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