Dominic Solanke doesn't actually fit the players Tottenham bought
Tottenham Hotspur are having such a hard time rebuilding because they are actually trying to build a team around an idea and a philosophy under Roberto De Zerbi, instead of doing what they were doing under Daniel Levy, which was sign players at the whim of Levy because Levy thought they were good value from a venture capitalist perspective - or would enable him to avoid spending a premium price on the actual best option for Spurs on the pitch.
Dominic Solanke was an example of Tottenham spending as little as possible on a new starting striker, because even though he was a record 65 million pound signing in 2024, he was the least expensive 19 goal, Premier League proven striker that Levy could ink after losing Harry Kane to Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich.
Although Solanke had some nice games against mid opponents in Tottenham's Europa League title run in 2024/25, he has been nowhere near worth what Spurs paid him. Not only has he failed to score 10 goals in any season, but his all-around play has been worse than advertised. Injuries and terrible finishing have made Solanke one of the streakiest and worst overall players on Spurs since the start of the 2025/26 season - and we are talking about a Spurs team that nearly got relegated last year and is 20th and winless through five games in 2026/27.
Dominic Solanke can't be the focal point
Tottenham Hotspur have signed a lot better players in the summer 2026 transfer market at the behest of Roberto De Zerbi, who parlayed Spurs desperation and his own excitement into mega power behind the scenes at N17 - an opportunity that has been strengthened by 1) not having Daniel Levy around anymore and 2) the fact that he earned a lot of good will by keeping Spurs afloat last season.
As part of those summer upgrades, Tottenham signed Savio and Omar Marmoush from Manchester City to boost their attack. Savio and Marmoush are two of the most exciting and skilled attackers in the Premier League, and while Marmoush once scored more than a goal per game in a half-season with Eintracht Frankfurt before his transfer to the Etihad, neither player is known for their scoring. And certainly at the center forward position, Marmoush isn't an upper-echelon poacher, which is a fact that has already settled in for Spurs supporters after his first few appearances with the club.
In a lineup including Dominic Solanke, whom De Zerbi still seems to be a fan of, Marmoush and Savio would start on the left and right, respectively, as inverted wingers. But even in inverted roles, Marmoush and Savio are as much creative and playmaking wingers as they are scoring ones, which means they need a striker who can stay in the box and score the goals.
Solanke does neither. He is rarely present in the box to be there for shooting opportunities, and he can't seem to work with the wingers in a possession-based system under Roberto De Zerbi. And looking beyond who Tottenham signed in the attack, the big new signings in the midfield, such as Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes (and center backs Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi, to boot), only mean that Spurs will enjoy more possession and play more in the final third. And that's actually bad for Solanke, whose best work at Bournemouth, for example, came when he was in a more transitional team. And he was also similarly better under Ange Postecoglou with this kind of football.
Tottenham bought players that don't fit Solanke, which actually means that Solanke does not fit what Spurs are trying to do. And though De Zerbi praises him publicly, even the idea of Solanke being an all-around striker to help inverted wingers in a system feels like an illusion, given he has no dribbles completed this season and averages just 0.2 key passes per game; those are among the worst numbers in the Premier League.
Solanke has not been starting as much lately, and Tottenham and De Zerbi may be fading him again. His poor play and his lack of a fit in the team with the new faces is only going to push Spurs into making a new striker signing when the winter window opens up in 2027.
