Tottenham Outcast: Manor Solomon told he can leave by Roberto De Zerbi.
There is a particular kind of Tottenham limbo reserved for players who are good enough to admire but not quite guaranteed enough to build around. Manor Solomon currently finds himself parked firmly in that lane. Speaking to Maariv, the Israeli winger addressed the reports that Roberto De Zerbi has told him he may not be part of the club’s plans for next season, and his answer managed to come across as diplomatic, honest and faintly ominous all at once.
“We have spoken several times since our time at Shakhtar. I saw him when I played against him in England, and also later when he moved to France we talked. He is a coach that I really like and appreciate, he is the best coach I have had, I think, in terms of football. I also know he really appreciates me, but the situation at Tottenham is different – there are a lot of players, but they are going really big this summer and I want to play, so I don’t know what will happen. I’m under contract there, so I can’t talk and I can’t know. “In football you never know, I’ve already experienced it, so we’ll live and see.”
Solomon’s relationship with De Zerbi predates Tottenham entirely. The pair worked together at Shakhtar Donetsk, and by his own account, it was a productive partnership built on mutual respect. Asked directly whether the two had spoken ahead of the new season, Solomon didn’t dodge.
They have spoken several times since their Shakhtar days, including when he faced De Zerbi’s sides in England and again after De Zerbi’s move to France. He called him the best coach he has worked under from a footballing perspective and said the feeling of appreciation runs both ways.
Leaving the club.…
And then came the caveat that will have Spurs fans reading between the lines. The situation at Tottenham, Solomon explained, is different. There are plenty of players competing for places, the club is “really going big” this summer, and he wants game time above all else. He admitted he doesn’t know what will happen, that he is under contract (until 2028) and therefore limited in what he can say, and that football has taught him often enough that you genuinely never know until you know.
It is a player being realistic about squad depth and being professionally careful about his words while a transfer saga plays out in the background. De Zerbi clearly rates him as a person and a talent, which makes sense given their history, but rating a player and picking him every week are two very different things, especially at a club currently reshaping its entire forward line.
For supporters, there is a bittersweet element to this one. Solomon has never been anything other than gracious and hard-working during his time in N17, even when opportunities were scarce, and it would be harsh to see him shipped out purely as a numbers game rather than a football one. But at the end of the day, this is football business, and business in football has very little space for emotion. Notwithstanding the fact that a major chunk of the fanbase also takes to not liking Manor Solomon (for reasons that are obvious).
The reality of a squad rebuild is that someone has to make way, and wingers with genuine top-level pedigree elsewhere in Europe rarely stay content on the fringes for long.