Bobby Zamora has backed Dominic Solanke to fire Tottenham Hotspur up the Premier League.
The Lilywhites plunged into the relegation zone following last weekend's defeat to Aston Villa, before falling to the foot of the table when Fulham earned a point against Manchester United.
Spurs will have the chance to climb out of the bottom three when they face the Red Devils immediately after the international break. The 29-year-old striker has been tipped to be a game-changer once Roberto De Zerbi masters the art of playing out from the back.
Porro, Kulusevski, Mudryk, Xavi and Odobert - Tottenham injury updates and return dates
The Tottenham XI Roberto De Zerbi must pick to beat Manchester United as four changes made
“Roberto's all about build-up, playing out from the back, fantastic patterns, and cutting through lines,” began the former Premier League striker, who scored 47 goals in 247 top-flight appearances, in an exclusive interview with football.london.
FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE!Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
“The final third, which is the hardest part of the game to do, will be focused on at some stage. I think his fundamentals and basics are probably taking up a lot of the time in training; Solanke will thrive when everything is finally there.”
Zamora added: “I can see them [finishing] 10th, top half of the table, and then next season really kicking on. They've obviously signed a lot of players, and all eyes are on them because of that as well, adding even more pressure to them. But I do think that there are elements, and I'm seeing bits and pieces of the game that do show me improvement.”
Solanke hasn’t quite had the desired impact in the early stages of the season, having only scored once in seven games across all competitions.
His solitary strike came in the Carabao Cup second round when De Zerbi’s side stormed past Charlton Athletic at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in August.
Zamora continued: “As a striker, you want to be scoring early, and you want to be in a positive mindset when the pressure falls on you to take one chance that drops to you in a game. There just haven't been enough chances for Tottenham in general; I think that will come [though].”
Richarlison informed the Lilywhites of his desire to leave towards the end of the summer, so he was subsequently axed from the Premier League squad.
The 29-year-old striker wasn't registered to continue playing, unlike Xavi Simons, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in April and isn't expected to return until next year.
Solanke and Omar Marmoush have been tasked with finding the net in the absence of Richarlison, who scored 11 goals and provided four assists in 32 top-flight appearances last season. Zamora reckons whoever finds the net first will cement a place in the starting lineup for weeks to come.
The former West Ham, Fulham, Brighton, QPR, Spurs, and Bristol Rovers striker said: “It's down to one of those guys, one of the strikers, to take their opportunity and make their season, make them the number one choice.
“It's a good opportunity currently for them to stake their claim. So, whoever jumps in, bags that first goal for them has a good chance of continuing in the side and making a really good season for themselves.”
And on Richarlison, who has recently entered the final year of his contract in north London, but has an option to extend his stay by a further 12 months, Zamora said: “Both the manager and, from what I can see, Richarlison, are fiery characters, so I don't know if there's any make-up to be done there and [Tottenham] may have to wait till January for him to go.
“But I think they can probably do with one striker. The way I see it is that his head was turned, and to be able to access a move with Roberto, he's probably having a disagreement, and, ‘You want to go? Okay, off you go'.
“Let's say passionate conversations between those two may have happened just to work the way out for Richarlison as well, and maybe that's what's happened. I don't think there'll be a way back.
“Obviously, anybody who can score goals in the Premier League is important. So, he will be missed. But if he is, it's a few months, and January will come around, and he may be able to get out the door, and with those funds, maybe somebody comes in.”