Tottenham Hotspur star striker Dominic Solanke only just returned from a foot injury that had cost him months of action and was frustratingly slow to heal. It got to a point where Spurs supporters were simply thinking that anything Solanke could offer would be a mere bonus and that they would not be able to count on the 65 million pound man on anything this season.
Instead, Solanke started and played 69 minutes in the Champions League on Tuesday night for his very first start of the 2025/26 season under Thomas Frank, and he rewarded the manager replacing Mathys Tel in the squad by helping save the manager's job for at least another week.
Solanke not only scored a goal in the 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, but he was also a massive upgrade on Randal Kolo Muani, who was beyond awful the preceding weekend in the disastrous 2-1 loss to West Ham United. Kolo Muani actually came in to finish the final 20 or so minutes of the BVB game, performing at a level less than a quarter of the efficacy of Solanke.
Dominic Solanke is much better than Randal Kolo Muani
There is no doubt that Solanke is a better player for Tottenham Hotspur than Kolo Muani. He actually looks like he wants to be there and works ten times as hard. Dominic Solanke has a presence about him in the box, and he does so much work on and off the ball to get his teammates involve, assisting the wingers in becoming goal threats and having more space to work with.
Watching how much better Tottenham were on Tuesday with Solanke in the starting lineup, all Spurs fans can say is that they have one wish for Solanke above anything else. After he missed several months with a nagging injury, Spurs need Solanke to remain healthy for the remainder of the season.
Like last year, Spurs only hope at salvaging anything remotely worth praising about the 2025/26 season is to shine in European competition. They are almost certainly not going to win the Champions League like they did the Europa League last season, when Solanke was leading the attack, but they are near the top of the table in the competition so far with a chance to make some noise in the knockouts.
A lot of hopes rest on Solanke, just looking at how much better the attack gelled against Dortmund with him back in tow. Spurs cannot afford to lose him to a significant injury again.