There is only one player on Tottenham Hotspur with both one Premier League goal (nobody, by the way, has two) and one assist, and that is striker Dominic Solanke. While one goal and one assist is hardly a return worth bragging about at a club the size as Spurs through 8 league appearances and 378 minutes, the point remains that Solanke has been, in terms of data, the most decisive player on the team.
And obviously, Spurs are going to need more from him, Omar Marmoush, and all the other Spurs attackers. Roberto De Zerbi surprisingly didn't give the forward he named captain against Manchester United, who bounced back from a poor start to grap a last gasp goal to rescue a point at Old Trafford, to build more momentum against Chelsea. But Tottenham managed to get a different hero in a surprise starter, Mathys Tel.
Solanke's spot in the starting 11 is tenuous now, given Marmoush is the better overall player, Savio will be returning soon, and Mohammed Kudus and Tel are both coming off excellent games. But Solanke is the main No. 9 in the squad and, again, technically has the best numbers out of the forwards as the only one with a goal and an assist.
What Dominic Solanke needs to do is have a one track mind. His sole goal going forward, including if he starts over the weekend against local rivals Crystal Palace, is to score. That's it. Yes, Solanke was known throughout his career as being more of an all arounder at striker, but the best Premier League strikers at the biggest clubs were all scorers first and foremost. Even the best of them all, his predecessor Harry Kane, was an elite all around player but an elite scorer, obviously.
Solanke is never going to be Kane. Duh. But remember, Tottenham signed him after he scored 19 goals at Bournemouth in a breakout 2023/24 season. Whether or not that was a mistake is an entirely different discussion, but the point is that Tottenham bought him after that season - not after the seasons in which he showed good all around play. They bought him to score goals.
It's not that Tottenham Hotspur don't want Solanke to do more to bring the others into the game or play better on the ball. He needs to do all of that, too, as he has not been as advertised there either. But Tottenham have great creators and dribblers. What they need are goals. Solanke can build and focus on the other stuff later. Right now, they need him to focus on getting into the box, taking up good positions, and getting off high quality shots. That's it. Everything else is secondary to Spurs.
This article was originally published on www.hotspurhq.com as Dominic Solanke needs to have only one thing in his mind right now .
