Don’t believe the hype; whilst Tottenham Hotspur do have a number of injury problems in their squad ahead of the Europa League trip to face Rangers, they’re not exactly devoid of options.
Philippe Clement reckons Spurs are ‘one of the best teams in the world’ and has lamented the financial gap between Rangers and their Premier League rivals.
Whilst as many as eight Tottenham players are doubts for the clash at Ibrox, Rangers fans can expect to see some of the club’s top players in Europa League action.
But whilst the likes of Korea legend Heung Min-Son or England international James Maddison will grab the headlines, there’s one player who might’ve wound up at Rangers had things gone differently way back in 2018.
Rangers wanted to sign Dominic Solanke
Cast your mind back to the summer of 2018 and you’ll remember the energy of Steven Gerrard sweeping through Rangers Football Club.
The Liverpool legend took his first foray into top team management at Ibrox and set about rebuilding a squad and club in disarray.
As part of that, Gerrard targeted top young prospects from the Merseyside club’s academy with the likes of Ovie Ejaria and Ryan Kent eventually moving to Ibrox.
But there was one other strongly linked forward in Dominic Solanke who Rangers reportedly hoped to bring to Glasgow on loan.
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Then having just joined Liverpool from Chelsea, Rangers were linked with Solanke throughout the summer of 2018 but eventually the Reds held on to the talented frontman.
Six months later Solanke completed a £17m move to Bournemouth and the rest, as they say, is history.
Spurs striker hailed as ‘unbelievable’
Over six years on from when Dominic Solanke was being linked to Rangers, the England international could finally get the chance to turn out at Ibrox.
That’s because 27-year-old Solanke completed a £65m switch to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer after tearing up the Premier League with Bournemouth.
Since that move, Solanke has returned seven goals and is widely regarded as one of the best English hitmen on the planet.
Rangers will have to keep Dominic Solanke quiet if they stand any chance of overcoming Spurs in the Europa League.
Ange Postecoglou has previously hailed the Tottenham Hotspur star as an ‘unbelievable’ player and Solanke is nailed on to be involved against Rangers at Ibrox.
“I just think the enormous effort he put in on Wednesday night to help us win a game of football, not just physically but mentally, and his capacity to help the team in every way he can,” Postecoglou told the Independent after Solanke scored twice in a 4-1 win over Aston Villa in November.
”To back that up today with such a massive effort again against a pretty difficult team to play against, it’s just unbelievable.
“Yeah, the goals are great and of course as a striker I am sure he loves the fact he can score a couple of goals, but even if he didn’t, I can’t speak highly enough of what he is contributing to our team at the moment.
“And long may it continue because with him playing that way, it just makes us a better team.”