Tottenham Hotspur winger Manor Solomon has played just 29 minutes of action for Villarreal so far but has already made a ‘spectacular’ impact at his new club, as Thomas Frank continues to struggle with his left-wing options in north London.
Solomon arrived at Spurs as a free agent in 2023 but has made just six appearances for the club in that time, assisting twice and was subsequently packed off to Leeds United in the Championship last season.
The 26-year-old made a huge impression as he helped the Elland Road outfit secure a return to the Premier League, notching up 23-goal involvements, and it was thought that he would get the opportunity to prove to Frank that he was worthy of consideration as a replacement for departing legend Son Heung-min.
However, Solomon left for another stint, this time in LaLiga, on September 1 and was on bench for his new club back on familiar ground as Villarreal lost 1-0 at Tottenham in their Champions League opener.
His impact since then has been pretty incredible, though, with Solomon grabbing an assist off the bench on his debut at the weekend before then netting the winner as a late substitute in Wednesday night’s win over Sevilla – all in just 29 minutes of action in total.
The Sevilla crowd had made clear they’d be hostile to Israel international Solomon in advance, but his six-minute cameo proved decisive and led to the Spanish media heaping praise on the pacy forward after.
Indeed, Diario de Noticias stated: “Manor Solomon’s emergence at Villarreal can only be described as spectacular from a footballing perspective.”
And, while some Villarreal supporters questioned the signing when it happened, that noise has now gone away.
The Spanish outlet added: “He stole the limelight. On and off the pitch. In the 86th minute, he scored the goal that sealed the match in his team’s favour.”
DON’T MISS ➡️ Premier League signings of the season power ranking: Ekitike rises; brand-new leader
Solomon stuns as Tottenham left-wing problem persists
Many Tottenham fans are of the opinion that Solomon has never really been given the opportunity to showcase his talents in north London, although injuries did play a part in those chances not really materialising after he first signed.
Indeed, there is a strong feeling that the club’s best option to replace Son is not even available to Frank when it comes Solomon, especially when you look at the alternatives used so far this season.
Brennan Johnson was given the first crack, given that his normal right-wing berth is now the property of the outstanding Mohammed Kudus.
As many Spurs fans will testify, Johnson is always capable of grabbing a goal, but offers next to nothing else on a regular basis. That was all on display again on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup win over Doncaster, where he failed to make much of an impression at all but managed to gloss over the mediocrity with a well-taken goal at the death.
Johnson was then jettisoned as soon as Xavi Simons was on board, with the Dutchman starting out wide against West Ham and Villarreal. However, Simons has been signed as a No.10 and his quality of playing centrally was clearly evidenced as he changed the gamec oming off the bench in the weekend draw at Brighton.
The 22-year-old has started the win over Doncaster in an attacking midfield role, with Wilson Odobert this time on the left – as he was against the Seaguuls four days earlier. However, the former Burnley man failed to really lay down a marker that he should be a regular in that position either.
And, when he was taken off in the cup win, Mathys Tel moved for the No.9 position to out wide and was just as ineffective out there as he was through the middle.
All that adds to the argument that Totteham and Frank might just have been better off seeing what Solomon has to offer, and it’s hard not to imagine that it could have been more than what had already been seen so far.
Latest Tottenham news: Frank open to Kane return / Semenyo chase
Thomas Frank has openly stated that he would ‘love’ Harry Kane to return to Tottenham after it emerged that the striker has the power to force a Bayern Munich exit in 2026.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth will prepare for another battle to keep hold of Antoine Semenyo in 2026, and TEAMtalk understands that Spurs are expected to be among the Premier League club who reignite their interest in the winger.
And finally, Tottenham want to wrap up a £26m signing of Jaoa Palhinha in the January window, and it’s very clear to see why.