One of the biggest transfer stories coming out of the Premier League over the last few days has been Tottenham Hotspur’s interest in Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke. Of all of the positions, Ange Postecoglou has identified the number nine spot as being the one most in need of strengthening, especially as Richarlison looks like he could be on his way out of the door.

Strikers are expensive and Bournemouth know that they have a serious baller on their hands, so they are making sure that they get their money’s worth. The higher ups at the club have made it clear that if anyone wants to prise him away from the south coast, then they will need to pay his £65m release clause, a fee that Tottenham are completely opposed to paying. There are other strikers on the market, but Spurs seem fully focused on Solanke and for good reason too, as there are many attributes that make him stand out.

Goalscoring

The main objective of a striker is to put the ball in the back of the net, and Solanke proved last season that he is very good at that. He came joint fourth in the Golden Boot race with 19 in the league, level with Ollie Watkins and Phil Foden. For a player playing in a team that ended the season in the bottom half of the Premier League, that is a remarkable tally.

Solanke got 19 league goals last season for Bournemouth (with all due respect), scoring more than the likes of Son, Salah, same goals as Ollie Watkins. But all I’m seeing on my timeline he’s not an upgrade on what we already have? Please guys.

— Hotspur Edition (@HotspurEdition) August 1, 2024

Some might argue that he has only had one good season, and that he is too unreliable for Tottenham, but when looking at his goal scoring numbers from other seasons, context needs to be added. The 2023/24 season was just Solanke’s second season as a first choice number nine, and his only other season as first choice came when the club was simply trying to survive under Gary O’Neil. In that season he was often isolated up top with very little support, yet he still managed a respectable six goals and five assists.

Bournemouth were promoted back into the Premier League in 2021/22, and it was mainly down to Solanke’s incredible run in front of goal in the Championship. He scored 29 league goals in that campaign, only overshadowed by Aleksandar Mitrovic’s superhuman tally. To put it into perspective, Ivan Toney broke the Championship goal record in the previous season, scoring 31, just two more than Solanke, and yet he has gone on to be considered by many as one of the best strikers currently in the league.

Style of Play

Solanke’s style of play is what has helped him flourish under Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth. Both he and the coach like to play high octane football, with a high press and direct attacks, and that is what has attracted Postecoglou to the English forward. In 2022/23, only Bayern Munich forced more high turnovers that resulted in a shot than Iraola’s club at the time, Rayo Vallecano. He continued this play style when he came to the Premier League, and even though it took a few games for it to click, it eventually became a very frightening prospect for other clubs to face.

68 - Across the big five European leagues in 2022-23, only Bayern Munich (73) forced more high turnovers that produced a shot than Andoni Iraola's Rayo Vallecano (68).

73 - Bayern
68 - Rayo Vallecano
67 - Brighton
63 - Napoli
62 - Arsenal, PSG

Hunted. pic.twitter.com/yusUoCEddb

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 19, 2023

In December last season, when the Cherries beat Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford, only two teams in the top five leagues had scored more goals than Bournemouth from high turnovers. Tottenham are aiming to play in a similar way to that, but to do so they need a prolific striker who is willing to press high, and Solanke fits that mould like a glove.

Fitness

Last season saw more injuries to players than any other in Premier League history. It will come as no surprise then that clubs are looking at injury records of players that they are looking to sign with much more caution this summer.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth, 26)
📊 vs Premier League Strikers, 2023/24

🥇 Headed goals — 1st
🥇 Offensive duels — 1st
🥇 Interceptions — 1st
🥇 Progressive passes % — 1st
🥈 Expected goals — 2nd
🥈 Passes to penalty area % — 2nd
🥉 Non-penalty goals — 3rd
🥉 Goals — 3rd
🥉… pic.twitter.com/ETV0tcuRg2

— DataMB (@DataMB_) August 5, 2024

Spurs fans, if they do sign Solanke, will be pleased to know that he hasn’t made much of a habit of getting injured. In the 2022/23 season he did miss a few games due to injury, but last season he missed a total of 87 minutes all season long; not even the length of a full game. There were reports that he was playing through an injury for part of the campaign, but that still didn’t stop him from scoring 19 goals.

On top of his good injury record, Solanke is an incredibly fit player. With all of the pressing and running that he does, it is remarkable that he doesn’t get subbed off early most of the time. A lot of Bournemouth players have been conditioned to perform like this, as Iraola’s style requires players to be incredibly fit, but for a striker to remain on the pitch for nearly the whole match is definitely impressive.

Overall, if Solanke were to join Spurs, he would be a perfect fit for them, even if a lot of their fans have taken to social media to complain about their interest in him. As of right now, he remains a Bournemouth player, and the south coast club have the upper hand in negotiations. The 26-year-old has shown an interest in Spurs, but if the Cherries want to keep him, they will, and I don’t think Solanke is the kind of player to resent them for that. He did sign a new contract last summer and has three years left on his deal. If he were to produce similar numbers this season to last, then it will only be a matter of time before the real big clubs come knocking.