Before Tottenham Hotspur’s brilliant 4-1 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday, Dominic Solanke had not registered a shot on target across his last six appearances in all competitions.
The forward, who joined Spurs from Bournemouth in August for a club-record fee of £65million, scored the equaliser in a 3-1 victory over Brentford in September and the third goal in a memorable 3-0 win at Manchester United, but he was still waiting to produce a breakout moment; a piece of individual skill, an assist or a goal that earned his side all three points.
But how could the man who is expected to fill the goalscoring void left by Harry Kane succeed when he so rarely shoots? Was the 27-year-old struggling to adapt to Ange Postecoglou’s style of play, or was he just not in sync with his new team-mates? How much longer could this go on before it was time to hit the panic button?
Solanke’s performance against Aston Villa — he scored twice in five second-half minutes and won the free kick James Maddison curled into the top corner in stoppage time — reminded everybody of his quality. The England international’s intelligent run and beautiful chip over Emiliano Martinez was a reminder, were it needed, of his quality.
Judging Solanke just on his goalscoring output alone would be foolish. What he offers Postecoglou’s side out of possession is equally as important as what he does inside the penalty box. This is not the first time in Solanke’s career that his form has been questioned — it took him 18 months and 39 games to register his first goal for Bournemouth after signing from Liverpool for £19million in January 2019.
“We didn’t speak about the lack of goals,” Junior Stanislas, who played up front with Solanke for four years at Bournemouth, told The Athletic earlier this season. “His quality was evident in training. His hold-up play, skills and willingness to run in behind — he was someone you always wanted on your team. He brought so much more than goals.”
Solanke did not touch the ball once in Manchester City’s box when Tottenham beat them in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup last week, but he was still integral to one of the best results during Postecoglou’s time in charge.
In the first couple of minutes, City were trying to attack down the left wing. Matheus Nunes shifts the ball inside towards Ruben Dias. Before Nunes even connects with his pass, Solanke starts running in Dias’ direction. Solanke cuts off the defender’s options and ushers him towards the touchline, where Nunes hits the ball all the way back to goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
Solanke is not satisfied so he hunts down Ortega, who passes it to John Stones. The England centre-back has lots of time and space until Solanke accelerates. Solanke and Timo Werner look to have Stones trapped, but he wriggles away.
If Solanke or Werner had won the ball, they would have been through on goal. City may have kept possession throughout this sequence but Solanke’s selfless running means his defence have pushed much higher up the pitch.
Solanke constantly disrupts the opposition’s build-up by harassing their defenders and this is one of the reasons Postecoglou was so keen to sign him. Nine of the 10 players to cover the most distance in the top flight last season were central midfielders. Solanke was the exception as he ranked eighth by covering 396.9 kilometres.
Postecoglou admitted a couple of months ago that Spurs had previously considered signing Ivan Toney from Brentford in the summer. Toney had been a more consistent goal threat than Solanke in the Premier League over the last couple of years and contributed to England reaching the final of the European Championship in the summer. Solanke may not have been included in Gareth Southgate’s squad, but he is a far better tactical fit.
In his press conference before Tottenham faced Aston Villa, Postecoglou was asked if it mattered that Solanke had not been taking a lot of shots. “I am delighted with him,” Postecoglou said. “I couldn’t be happier with the way he is leading that front line.
“He was a major reason we won the game the other night because (Manchester) City will grind you and pin you right back for the whole game if you let them, but he just didn’t allow that to happen and just kept running and pressing — and he had the quality on the ball. Any other night he would have had a couple of assists as well. I know everyone talks about the goals. He will get his goals. If he plays at that level every week for us, that is going to make us a really good football team.”
When Spurs won at Old Trafford, Solanke caused Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte no end of problems.
This incident in the 28th minute nearly leads to a one-v-one situation with Andre Onana until Noussair Mazraoui covers for De Ligt and concedes a throw-in. Defenders are never safe in possession when Solanke is around.
It was the exact same situation when Tottenham played Brentford. After Bryan Mbeumo gave Thomas Frank’s side the lead in the first minute, Spurs swarmed them for the rest of the half. Solanke set the tone by repeatedly pinching the ball from Sepp van den Berg and Vitaly Janelt.
“We know they are a good pressing team; they press with a big intensity and we need to be able to deal with that,” Frank told The Athletic afterwards. “I thought today in spells we were good and in others we could have done better. That said, Tottenham are also one of the most aggressive teams in high pressing.”
Spurs won possession in the final third on 13 occasions against Brentford. Only once has there been more from a team in a single game this season — also Spurs against Newcastle.
The most impressive example of Solanke’s work out of possession came in stoppage time against Aston Villa. The angles of his runs force errors. Diego Carlos is right-footed but Solanke intelligently approaches him in a way that makes a short pass to Pau Torres risky, so he goes back to Martinez. This sequence ends with Solanke tackling Torres and Brennan Johnson wins a free kick. Solanke has created a potential goalscoring opportunity from the set piece out of nothing.
“Dom has been unbelievable since he joined. He is working so hard,” Micky van de Ven said ahead of Tottenham’s Europa League match against AZ Alkmaar. “He keeps running the whole game and I am watching him and thinking, ‘Phwoar, how are you even doing this? (You just) keep sprinting over and over again’.”
Solanke has helped Spurs reach the next stage of their evolution under Postecoglou. They are an aggressive, front-footed pressing team who have scored the most goals in the league (22) with eight different players chipping in. They do not need to over-rely on Solanke like they did with Kane and have with Son Heung-min in the past.
“Don’t get me wrong, if Harry was here I’d be a very happy manager,” Postecoglou said last week. “We’d find a way to fit him in. But you’re right, part of him leaving is that opportunity for people to grow and we’re still in that phase.
“There’s more that the guys have in them. I keep saying that some of them have a really high ceiling. Some of them are still trying to stick their head up a little bit more every time. Then you have a performance like (Crystal) Palace and you feel like, ‘Nah they’re going to cower again and not stand up even further’.
“But you need to go through those experiences. I can definitely see that growth. Once I can cajole and convince them to just keep going, don’t be afraid, don’t fear failure and stumble, criticism and scrutiny. There is that opportunity for us and it’s the only way we’ll become the team we want to be. We won’t do that by bringing in another Harry. Those players are rare. For us it’s going to have to be a collective effort to get to where we want to.”
Solanke’s sacrificial running epitomises Postecoglou’s ethos.
(Top photo: John Walton/Getty Images)
