Dominic Solanke has endured a stop-start beginning to his Tottenham career
Tottenham Hotspur are gearing themselves up for the high-voltage North London Derby showdown against Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have endured a mixed start to the 2024/25 season, collecting only four points from three games regardless of playing very well. They entered the recently concluded international break on the back of a 2-1 away defeat to Newcastle United, so the lads at our club will be raring to bounce back and show pride in the much-anticipated derby.
A lot of eyeballs will be on Spurs’ record-signing Dominic Solanke, who arrived in a £65m deal from Bournemouth in the past summer transfer window.
The 26-year-old made his Tottenham debut in a 1-1 draw with newly promoted Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on matchweek 1. However, the one-cap England international has missed the following games against Everton and Newcastle United due to an ankle injury suffered against Leicester City.
-> Tottenham Hotspur confirmed signings, transfers in, out, loan exits, releases for 2024/25
Since Dominic Solanke stepped in at the Hotspur Way, there has been a lot of chatter regarding his price tag from the media houses and pundits alike. Now, former Arsenal striker Paul Merson has given his verdict on the Englishman’s signing, what he expects from him and what he needs to do to deal with the pressure of playing for a big club like Spurs.
Writing in his latest column for Sky Sports, the Magic man believes Solanke will take Ange Postecoglou’s side to a different level and has backed him to score 20 goals this campaign.
“Dominic Solanke is a good signing and takes Tottenham to another level,” said Paul Merson.
“What he’s got to get used to is if you miss a few good chances then you’re under the microscope.
“With no disrespect, when you’re playing for Bournemouth and you miss three chances, there are no headlines about it. He’ll have to get used to being at a big club and putting his chances away.
“When he starts scoring, I think he could get 20 goals this season whereas Arsenal might be short of a centre-forward. I’m not sure they did enough in the transfer window.”
Earlier this week, injury expert Dr Rajpal Brar gave us a positive injury update on Solanke, stating that his recovery from an ankle injury is going well and the striker should be fit in time for the North London derby. This update on Solanke would have been the perfect tonic for the Spurs fans before the clash with the Gunners.
The £90,000-per-week star was unfortunate to miss the last two games with an ankle injury. However, he will now be raring to prepare himself well and compensate for the last two games with a strong performance against Mikel Arteta’s side. There would be no better way for the striker to endear himself to the Spurs faithful than scoring a crucial goal or making an assist against our bitterest rivals, and he could do just that this weekend.
-> Tottenham’s 5 best PL opening day wins
If he quickly adapts to the demands of the manager, understands the system, establishes relationships with his teammates on the pitch and most importantly keeps himself fit, Solanke should be primed to score at least 20 goals this season.