Dominic Solanke netted a double in Tottenham Hotspur’s emphatic win against Aston Villa
Dominic Solanke arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur in a club-record, big-money move from Bournemouth this summer. He didn’t enjoy the best of starts to life at N17 but has been making vast improvements of late.
The England international netted his first brace for Tottenham during Sunday’s 4-1 win against Aston Villa. After Brennan Johnson equalised right after the break, Dominic Solanke netted our team’s second and third goals as Spurs fought back from 1-0 down against the Villans. This helped to take the striker’s tally to four goals in eight Premier League appearances this season.
Before the encounter against Unai Emery’s Villa, pressure had been starting to grow on the record signing. However, the 27-year-old answered his critics in style, deliciously dinking over the onrushing Emiliano Martinez for his first before tucking home from a Richarlison cut-back to complete his double.
BBC Sports pundit Troy Deeney, one of Solanke’s early critics at Spurs, praised the way he scored the goals. The former Watford skipper admitted that he had been sceptical of the England striker but his brace against Villa have given him confidence that he is the right man to lead the line for Tottenham.
“I have been giving him a bit of stick because I’m not sure if he is the man who will score enough goals to take Tottenham all the way to where they want to be, but he was really good in the win over Villa,” Deeney wrote after picking Solanke in his BBC’s Premier League team of the week.
“When I give people stick I also look to give them praise and credit. His goals were two proper poacher’s finishes. He was much better and played on the last man, didn’t come short and get involved.
“He was always available for a cross and got his just rewards. Hopefully, he can continue and start firing Tottenham to where they want to be.”
After enjoying two prolific seasons in the Championship for the Cherries, Solanke finally produced a productive campaign in the Premier League last season under Andoni Iraola, scoring 19 Premier League goals. This subsequently prompted Daniel Levy and Johan Lange to fork out £65 million on the 27-year-old, trying to fill the void left by Harry Kane in the summer of 2023.
The ex-Liverpool man is now beginning to find his feet at the Hotspur Way, as evidenced by his fine brace in Spurs’ 4-1 win over Villa. His overall play was once again fantastic before the striker managed to get himself on the scoresheet twice.
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Solanke will now look to build on Sunday’s performance and continue scoring goals in the upcoming games against Galatasaray and Ipswich Town.
