Tottenham are being reminded again of their costly Dominic Solanke error

Tottenham Hotspur only showed serious interest in two striker transfer targets last summer in Eli Junior Kroupi and Nicolas Jackson. They mostly put their eggs in the baskets of Omar Marmoush and Cody Gakpo, signing the former despite him not being a true No. 9 while barely fighting for the latter and watching as he stayed with Liverpool instead.

In truth, there was little urgency on the striker market on the part of Roberto De Zerbi and Tottenham. Bournemouth were never going to sell Kroupi, and then he got injured. Jackson ended up joining rivals Aston Villa for 65 million pounds, the same price as what Spurs paid for Dominic Solanke and a little more than the obligation to buy for Marmoush.

Spurs may not have needed to sign Jackson, and there are flaws to his game, which were exposed at Chelsea. But so far this season, Jackson is making a real impact for Aston Villa, and he did it again this weekend with a goal, an assist, and an all around great performance in a 4-4 draw with Manchester United.

Now, Jackson has six goals and one assist in nine Premier League games, making him one of the better strikers in the league with a better return on goals to games than he had at Chelsea. And with the Blues, there were never any doubts about his skill, athleticism, and all around ability in terms of wreaking havoc.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur have only one out and out No. 9 in their squad in Dominic Solanke, who is both older than Nicolas Jackson and worse in every possible way. In his ten appearances this season, Solanke has just one goal and one assist in the Premier League. He isn't creating chances, he isn't able to dribble or run the channels like Jackson, and he most certainly isn't scoring goals.

Roberto De Zerbi doubled down on Solanke this summer transfer window by keeping him around, he triped down on him by not pushing harder for a true No. 9 profile, and then he quadrupled down on Big Dom by casting Richarlison out of the squad entirely following their dispute.

It's hard not to watch Jackson on Villa with how dynamic he is and how much he is influencing the game with goals and chances created and wonder if Spurs missed out. Because yes, 65 million pounds is a steep price, but when it comes to scoring goals, putting points in the table, and moving into the Champions League, an upgrade on Solanke is probably worth at least that much.