Dominic Solanke enjoyed a bright start to his Tottenham career during his first season in North London.
The striker notched nine league goals for the Lilywhites following his big-money move from Bournemouth, and while that was perhaps not the return that Spurs were hoping for when they brought him in, he still ended the campaign as the club’s second-highest scorer in the Premier League.
Solanke showed flashes of the brilliance that he can provide last term, but will be expected to hit similar heights to the ones he achieved at Bournemouth as the Thomas Frank era begins at Spurs.
The Dane is expected to bring wholesale changes in N17 this summer, and the former Brentford boss has now revealed his first impressions of Solanke.
Thomas Frank is a ‘big fan’ of Solanke’s abilities
Frank’s immediate priority will be to work with Daniel Levy to ensure that he can strengthen the squad in the areas he desires ahead of next season.
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That will also mean casting his eye over the players already at the club, and reaching judgements over how he intends to use them, or whether certain people would be better suited by a move to a different club.
Frank has now issued his immediate thoughts on Solanke, who is expected to open the campaign as Spurs’ number one option to lead the line.
“I’m a big fan of him (Solanke) in terms of his abilities,” the 51-year-old said, according to the print edition of The Sun (20 June, pg. 51).
“I’m sure we’ll make him score a lot of goals.”
Frank’s statements are a back-handed compliment
While the sentiment behind Frank’s comments on Solanke is certainly positive, The Sun’s Tom Barclay has referred to it as a back-handed compliment, and it’s easy to see why.
The Tottenham boss’ statement about making Solanke score a lot of goals perhaps implies that he wasn’t overly impressed by his output last season.
Solanke had hit 19 Premier League goals for Bournemouth in 2023/24, but was unable to maintain those impressively high standards at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, Frank’s comments can definitely be interpreted as being a little harsh towards his striker.
Spurs endured a season to forget, in which several of their more well-established stars dipped well below their usual performance levels, and Solanke was far from the main culprit in that respect.
A large portion of a striker’s game can often come down to confidence, and that is something that likely wouldn’t have been flowing through Solanke for the majority of last season, as he toiled away at the top of what was a hugely disfunctional side at times.
Frank’s latest comments could easily have dented the 27-year-old’s confidence even further if they have been perceived in the wrong way.