Late equaliser at Manchester United needs to become a catalyst for surprise captain choice
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Sam Tabuteau, Sports Reporter
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Dominic Solanke was in a reflective mood as he faced the media at Old Trafford after 10-man Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United.
Despite stealing in ahead of Lisandro Martinez to score a stoppage-time equaliser which lifted Spurs off the foot of the Premier League table, Solanke knew he could and probably should have had a hat-trick.
"I probably should've had three goals today. I wanted to make sure I kept getting as many as I can. I put one away, so I'm thankful for that,” Solanke said after ending his seven-month wait for a league goal.
On an evening when Tottenham were once again wasteful, Solanke was guilty of missing several presentable opportunities. But he did not let that deter him as he wrestled off the attention of Martinez to head home Sandro Tonali’s in-swinging delivery with the deftest of touches.
Solanke, handed the captain’s armband against United as a show of faith from manager Roberto De Zerbi, is a sensitive character. He has shouldered the responsibility for Spurs’ winless start to the season and has been determined to get back to his best after an injury-hit year.
Solanke’s confidence in his body and his ability to be Tottenham’s frontman have taken a hit over the last 12 months, but De Zerbi will hope his goal against United can act as a catalyst.
Goal-shy Spurs need a fully-firing Solanke if they are to propel themselves up the table. But on the evidence of what he has produced since his £65million move from Bournemouth in 2024, there is no guarantee he can be the figure of consistency they have clamoured for since Harry Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich.
Late leveller: Dominic Solanke scored Tottenham’s stoppage-time equaliser against Manchester United
AFP/Getty
No one is asking Solanke to fill the void left by Kane, but having failed to hit double figures for league goals since arriving in north London, there is plenty of room for improvement.
Solanke has looked off the pace as he has struggled to regain fitness after missing the back end of last season with a hamstring injury.
Now, though, after a three-week international break and an extended wait before Tottenham play at home to Coventry next Monday, Solanke needs to start proving his fitness issues are behind him.
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The best strikers are relentless in their repetition. They score game after game and act as a figurehead from which the rest of the squad can draw inspiration. Solanke has yet to be that player for Spurs.
Now into his third season at the club, the Englishman has still only ever scored once in back-to-back league games. That needs to change if Tottenham are serious about continuing with him as their leading man.
Increasingly, it looks to have been an oversight on Spurs’ part not to invest in an out-and-out striker in a summer when they parted with more than £300m on new players.
That said, Solanke must view this as an opportunity. He still has De Zerbi’s faith for now, but he must begin to repay it, or risk being left behind by Spurs’ new-found aggression in the transfer market.
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