Tottenham Hotspur veteran striker Dominic Solanke is rounding his way back into the lineup after another injury, and while most reporters have framed his future as being safer than Richarlison's, a lot of Tottenham fans have taken exception to that. A brief purple patch aside, Solanke was horrendous last season and has been nowhere near the then record 65 million pounds Spurs paid to Bournemouth for his services in 2024, and whereas Richarlison stepped up his performances when the club needed him most in the Premier League relegation battle, Solanke got worse as the season went on.
Nobody can ever criticize Richy for a lack of effort, and even in the 2-1 "friendly" win over London rivals Chelsea, that trademark intensity was there from the Brazilian international, who worked his socks off and was eventually rewarded with a late winner.
Now, Richarlison is poising a question to the Tottenham decision makers that the fans were already asking. If Richy had a better 2025/26 season and led the team with 11 goals, why should he be the one who gets sold? Solanke seemed safe, but the reasons for his safety didn't make much sense. Why should he be safe just because he was a 65 million pound investment? That sounds like a sunk cost fallacy. Why should Richarilson go just because he was on the transfer list previously? Again, it sounds like a fallacy to continue to try and sell someone just because that's what the old decision makers were doing.
The arguments for Dominic Solanke are sounding flimsy
The arguments for keeping Solanke are all based around potential for a player in his late 20s who has not done much for Tottenham Hotspur and not really done much for other big clubs - or even anyone else in the Premier League, other than that one big season in 2023/24 for Bournemouth that led to his signing.
If Richarlison keeps on impressing Roberto De Zerbi, working hard, and scoring big goals for the club, even in preseason, then De Zerbi is going to pound the table to keep the Brazilian and sell Solanke, who could still go for more money, in order to fuel a dream striker signing like one of Inter Milan's Latauro Martinez or Marcus Thuram.
Now, the jury is still out on Dominic Solanke's future at Tottenham, and as he works his way back from another injury, he still has another chance or two to make a statement to De Zerbi. But between the two of them in the competition to stay or go, Richy is starting to pull ahead.
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