It has been nearly two months since Tottenham Hotspur striker Dominic Solanke has found the back of the net, and after only scoring nine times in his debut season with the Lilywhites (less than half of the 19 he deposited for Bournemouth in 2023/24), the big No. 9 is at just three goals in 15 appearances this season.
Solanke was not touted as a top scorer for most of his career, but after scoring 19 goals for the Cherries, many thought he was just a late bloomer who had turned the corner. And that was precisely why Tottenham broke their transfer record, splurging 65 million pounds on a striker who now looks like he is worth nowhere near that kind of money.
Goals are not the only issue with Solanke. Firstly, there is his chances of making a return on investment on injury grounds. Maybe his latest ailment is just another minor quibble, but it seems like Solanke's had quite a few of those as a Spur. And goodness knows, Spurs have enough players who are prone to injury.
Dominic Solanke is not as advertised
Beyond the goals and the injury question marks, there is an overarching issue that goes hand in hand with the other two. Tottenham Hotspur cannot trust Dominic Solanke. They cannot trust him to score goals, they cannot trust him to stay on the pitch, and they cannot trust him to be consistent from game to game.
With a big performance against Borussia Dortmund upon his return from injury, Solanke looked like he was revving up the engines after the lengthy spell on the sidelines for a foot injury that was (very) slow to heal. But that, in hindsight, looks like a mere purple patch, and the Premier League version of Solanke we have seen since his move to the N17 has looked like a very different flavor of striker from the one who was crucial to the Europa League triumph last season.
That all plays into the big problem with Solanke. Tottenham can't believe in him as a striker. He was brought in to be a stabilizing presence and a big man up top who could make the others better with all around play. Well, we have yet to see that quality from Solanke this season. Whereas he put up excellent numbers for Bournemouth in creative stats, he's had just 0.4 key passes per game this season after posting 0.5 per game in 2024/25 under Ange Postecoglou.
Solanke has not been remotely near good enough for Tottenham, and the latest poor run of form, plus this new injury, are a reminder that the goods promised beyond the goals, which were always going to be a grab bag, look like a false one thus far.
Add us as a preferred source on Google