Ange Postecoglou’s first season as Tottenham Hotspur manager ended in a frustrating manner, failing to secure a Champions League spot ahead of Aston Villa. That is largely down to the 2-0 defeat at home to Manchester City, a game which, had they won, Spurs would have snuck into fourth.
With that being said, it is still a season in which Spurs can be happy, with fifth place lining up with many fans’ and neutral’s expectations. They had an incredible start to the season; their first ten games saw them win eight and draw two. Not only that, the 26 points Postecoglou’s side accumulated is the most by a manager in their first ten fixtures in charge in the Premier League, as per Opta Joe.
This season has certainly given Spurs and Postecoglou a platform from which they can launch next season. Of course, the demands of European football, a Thursday to Sunday schedule specifically, will return in 2024/25.
With that in mind, the summer transfer window in 2024 will be crucial for the Lilywhites. According to ESPN’s senior writer James Olley, Postecoglou has “asked the club for at least three new signings in the summer transfer window”, with several players on the way out of the club.
There is one player whom Spurs have been linked with in recent weeks, who could kickstart Postecoglou’s spending spree this summer.
Spurs looking to sign Premier League striker
The player in question here is Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke. The 26-year-old has been somewhat of a journeyman during his career so far but has found a home at Bournemouth, and after a wonderful season in the Premier League, is attracting interest from elsewhere.
According to Alex Crook of talkSPORT, Spurs are one of the clubs who are interested in signing the Englishman this summer and are contemplating a swoop. Despite the fact that it would take a “hefty bid” to purchase Solanke, Bournemouth owner Bill Foley knows that a deal could be struck this summer.
Indeed, Spurs will not be the only Premier League club interested in signing Solanke once the transfer window opens. As per reports, Eddie Howe’s Newcastle side are also strikingly interested in purchasing the 26-year-old.
It could cost Newcastle £60m to persuade the Cherries to sell Solanke, so it is safe to assume it will be a similar fee for Spurs, too. We could well be about to witness a big transfer saga surrounding the former Chelsea and Liverpool man.
How Solanke and Harry Kane compare
This season in Solanke’s game, there has been a certain likeness to former Spurs talisman Harry Kane.
The Bournemouth centre-forward bagged 19 goals in the Premier League this term and was only behind Erling Haaland with 27 goals, Cole Palmer with 22 goals and Alexander Isak with 21 goals for the Golden Boot.
This was also comfortably Solanke’s best return in the Premier League. In six previous top-flight campaigns so far in his career, the attacker has not scored anywhere close to 19 goals combined.
Of course, Solanke’s numbers are not close to those that Kane put up in the Premier League; the England captain is “the best striker in the world” according to international teammate Harry Maguire. However, the Cherries striker's 19 goals outscored Kane in three of his ten full Premier League years, showing he can keep up at that goalscoring rate Spurs lost when he left.
2013/14
N/A
N/A
10
3
2014/15
N/A
N/A
34
21
2015/16
N/A
N/A
38
25
2016/17
N/A
N/A
30
29
2017/18
21
1
37
20
2018/19
10
0
28
17
2019/20
32
3
29
18
2020/21
N/A
N/A
35
23
2021/22
N/A
N/A
37
17
2022/23
33
6
38
30
2023/24
38
19
N/A
N/A
Aside from his impressive record in front of goal this season, Solanke has previously been slathered with comparisons to England's skipper. Former Bournemouth player Charlie Daniels explained that he is “a bit like Harry Kane” in the way he “combines the role” of a nine and 10, before explaining the fact that “his movement’s the same as Harry’s and they’ve the same intelligence”.
Comparisons with their creativity and link-up play can certainly be drawn when looking closer at the stats, too. Both players average one key pass per 90 minutes, according to Sofascore, although Kane did create 13 big chances compared to Solanke’s three in 2023/24.
With that being said, perhaps Spurs should look no further than Solanke as they hunt down a Kane replacement this summer. There is certainly merit to say Spurs should pursue this deal, and as Daniels points out, could have a striker in the ilk of their record scorer once more.
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