Dominic Solanke Set for First Start at Spurs Since April
Roberto De Zerbi believes Dominic Solanke is finally ready to step back into the spotlight – and he may not have to wait long.
The Tottenham head coach confirmed the striker is “very close” to making his first start since April, with Everton’s visit on Saturday evening or next week’s Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool pencilled in as the likely moment.
Solanke has not started a game for Spurs since he hobbled off just 40 minutes into last season’s crucial 1-0 win at Wolves with a hamstring injury. What followed was a year of frustration.
The 28-year-old spent most of the campaign battling a recurring ankle problem, missed the final four matches entirely and could only watch from the bench as Tottenham scraped Premier League survival on the final day.
The plan was that a full pre-season would reset everything. It didn’t quite work out that way.
De Zerbi and the club’s revamped medical department, now operating under performance director Dan Lewindon, took a hard line on risk. With Solanke’s history of muscle and ankle issues, and concerns over jet lag around his return, Spurs slowed everything down. No shortcuts. No gambles.
The result: just 114 minutes in all competitions so far this season for a striker signed to be a focal point. And all this while Tottenham have failed to score in any of their first three league matches.
Asked directly when Solanke would be ready to start, De Zerbi finally opened the door.
“I think he is close. He’s a crucial player for us, Dom Solanke. For the characteristics, personality, level of the player,” the Italian said. “He’s very close after two times on the bench – Newcastle and Nottingham – he could start the game. Or, anyway, Tuesday, he can start the game.”
Spurs remain winless in the Premier League, but De Zerbi has clung to the performances as a sign that something is building beneath the surface. The real problem is obvious: the ball will not go in.
The stalemate at Nottingham Forest last weekend underlined it. Tottenham dominated long spells yet looked flat and short of ideas in the final third, a team playing around the box rather than through it.
The context makes Solanke’s looming return feel even more significant. Tottenham have willingly stripped goals from their squad and are now asking a new generation to carry the burden.
Brennan Johnson, their top scorer in the 2024/25 season, was allowed to leave for Crystal Palace in January. On Saturday night, he is expected to line up not just against his old club, but for Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs are also working on a move that would take last season’s leading scorer, Richarlison, back to Brazil, with Vasco da Gama pushing hard to get a deal done.
Add the earlier exits of Heung Min-Son and Harry Kane and the scale of the attacking reset is stark. Goals have walked out of the door in waves.
De Zerbi, though, is not backing away from the club’s strategy or the responsibility on those who remain.
“Solanke didn’t play many games. I hope Solanke can be available this season more than last season. Marmoush didn’t play for Tottenham last season,” he said. “Savio didn’t play last season for Tottenham. And then all players they have to… Mathys Tel has to improve. Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray. Now he is 22 years (old) and he has to push, to show.
“Because the level of football is you show who you are and what you can do, or you lose the level. I think we can score goals with this squad, but we have to see.”
That is the challenge now. A misfiring attack, a fanbase anxious for lift-off, and a centre-forward finally edging back towards the starting line.
If Solanke is as crucial as his manager insists, this is the moment he has to prove it.
