Dominic Solanke is yet to break his Tottenham duck and James Maddison can help
Tottenham Hotspur kicked off their Carabao Cup campaign with a 2-1 comeback win over Coventry City on Wednesday night.
The Lilywhites were seemingly down and out as Coventry City led 1-0 going into the latter stages of the match. However, thanks to late goals from Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson, Spurs managed to turn it around and advance to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Following the North London derby defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League last weekend, Ange Postecoglou made eight changes to his starting XI in midweek but decided to persist with record-signing Dominic Solanke leading the Tottenham attack.
Having arrived in a £65m deal from Bournemouth during the summer transfer window, Dominic Solanke has endured a difficult start to his White Hart Lane career. He has shown flashes of his potential, linked up play well and got into promising positions but is yet to break his Tottenham duck.
The one-cap England international led the Spurs attack against Coventry in the cup tie and drew a blank again in his 62-minute action on the pitch, thereby, making it three games without a goal since joining Ange Postecoglou’s forces in North London.
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After the game, Sky Sports pundit and former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp came to the support of Solanke. He stated that the Englishman’s teammates are not making it easy for the striker to break his duck and succeed, questioning the lack of creativity in Big Ange’s team.
“I think he has to find his best 11 now,” said Redknapp after Spurs’ 2-1 win over Coventry on Sky Sports News.
“With Bissouma being injured, what is his best midfield? How will he find some creativity in this team for Dominic Solanke? At the moment there has been none at all.
“He had no supply whatsoever in the period he was on with Brennan Johnson and Werner. Maddison is that player who can unlock a door, he’s been okay so far this season, but it hasn’t really clicked for them.
“It’s been so poor in wide areas. Solanke’s had nothing, it’s hard for him to get any supply line. For Spurs, it’s been a really tough watch. They’ve been really disappointing.”
Solanke hasn’t had the easiest starts at Tottenham, failing to score on his debut against Leicester City before suffering an ankle injury. The injury kept him out of games against Everton and Newcastle United before the international break. He recovered in time for the big North London derby and started the game, although the centre-forward was well marshalled by Arsenal’s centre-back duo William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Leading the Tottenham line against Coventry, Solanke was once again devoid of any service from his teammates, as also mentioned by Redknapp. Our midfielders and forwards have to do more in terms of finding the club-record signing in and around the box.
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It is only a matter of time before the English centre-forward breaks his Spurs duck, and once he does, floodgates will certainly open for Solanke.
