Ange Postecoglou has defended Dominic Solanke’s goal tally at Tottenham so far and has made an interesting revelation about the striker’s growth this season.
Dominic Solanke has made a solid start to his Tottenham career
There were more than a few raised eyebrows when Tottenham spent a club-record fee to sign Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth in the summer.
Critics pointed out that the 27-year-old’s scoring record over his career did not warrant such a big fee, with many criticising the North London club for overpaying for the Englishman.
However, Solanke has been one of Tottenham’s most consistent players so far this season and has proven to be an excellent fit for Postecoglou‘s system with the work he does off the ball, and his ability to drop deep and get involved in the build-up.
Ange Postecoglou says Solanke is growing as a leader
However, critics will point out that Solanke‘s goal output has not matched what you would expect of a £65m striker, with the former Cherries man having 11 goals across all competitions so far, seven of which have come in the Premier League.
Postecoglou has defended the centre-forward’s output, insisting that he will score more goals when Spurs start clicking as a team.
When asked if Solanke’s numbers would be better if he was more selfish, the Tottenham boss responded (via Football.London): “His numbers would be better if we were better. You’ve got to cut these guys some slack. They can’t do it all on their own. We’re struggling as a team for consistency, energy, cohesion – understandably so.
“You can’t expect strikers to go score hat-tricks on the back of that. Even at the weekend he scored an unbelievable goal, and had a couple of headers where he was unlucky, he’s still getting in those areas. He’s doing the absolute maximum and his numbers will get better when we get better.”
Postecoglou also explained that Solanke’s responsibility in the Tottenham dressing room has grown over the past six months, with the striker becoming an increasingly influential figure at the club.
He added about the England international: “He’s becoming [a leader]. I think through this difficult process we’ve been in, there have been things that have emerged. Guys like Dom and Kulusevski have definitely become much more pivotal in what we do, with the way they play, and the way we tackled the tasks we’ve got at the moment.
“We’ve seen enormous growth in Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Djed Spence. There is some good stuff happening but it does get masked by the fact were not in a great space in terms of our results right now. We need to change that.”
Solanke is being judged against an impossible standard
Solanke has managed 10 goal contributions in 17 Premier League outings this season, which is an exceptional record for anyone, let alone someone who has just arrived at the club and is playing for a struggling side.
It feels like a section of Spurs fans have been spoilt by Harry Kane over the last decade and are subconsciously comparing Solanke with the England captain.
That is an impossible standard for Tottenham’s summer signing to live up to as Kane is a generational striker and will arguably go down as the greatest player in the club’s history.