Tottenham shattering the club transfer record for Dominic Solanke in the summer of 2024 was yet another poor piece of business conducted under Daniel Levy.
Tottenham Hotspur are making some big plans for the January transfer window in an attempt to end the team’s rut. While the Thomas Frank era started very positively at White Hart Lane, it has now quickly soured, with large sections of the fanbase turning on their gaffer.
Thomas Frank and his coaching staff are under immense pressure after losing three consecutive games in all competitions. Moreover, it is the performances delivered in recent weeks, especially at home, that have not gone down well, with the supporters booing the players off the field after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Fulham.
Thomas Frank has to buy positive results to keep his job in N17. Meanwhile, the Tottenham board want to make a statement in the January transfer window by improving their attack, which has been an area of concern.
Spurs, under former chairman Daniel Levy, made plenty of horrible deals over the years. Lacking any sort of direction and vision, Daniel Levy approved the signings of several average players who are proving to be a liability under Frank. And one of those is Dominic Solanke.
Tottenham’s decision to break the bank for Dominic Solanke continues to haunt
Tottenham paid a club-record £65m transfer fee to Bournemouth to sign Dominic Solanke in the summer of 2024. He was brought in to fill the massive void left by the legendary striker Harry Kane the previous summer, but the move hasn’t worked out.
Solanke has hardly featured for Tottenham so far this season as he continues to struggle with an ankle injury. He last took to the pitch for Frank’s side in the 2-0 win over Manchester City way back in August, and has since suffered consistent setbacks in terms of his recovery. The centre-forward underwent minor ankle surgery at the start of October, and Frank was hoping to have him back fit after the November international break.
However, the Tottenham boss has not been able to provide a proper timescale of Solanke’s return so far. While the England international was a key player in his debut season in N17 and helped Tottenham win the Europa League by scoring 16 goals in all competitions, it is safe to say that the transfer has not worked out.
Solanke’s lack of availability has been one of the prime reasons why the Lilywhites continue to find scoring goals difficult. That, combined with Richarlison’s chronic inconsistency, has prompted the Hotspur Way chiefs to sign a No.9 when the transfer window reopens in January.
Villarreal’s Georges Mikautadze has reportedly emerged as a target following his exploits in La Liga this season. Spurs are ready to offer €50m to sign Mikautadze from Villarreal, and if they manage to do so, that would end Solanke’s chapter at White Hart Lane.
For all of their poor transfers on the pitch, Solanke isn’t the club’s worst by any means. However, for the money they spent to sign him from Bournemouth last year, the Englishman is yet to justify it. Despite the club-record signing expected to return before the end of 2025, the North Londoners’ interest in signing Mikautadze couldn’t be a bigger hint towards the start of the end of the road for Solanke in the capital.
