Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke is open to a move to Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou’s side are hoping to clear his £65million clause, TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal.
The 6ft 2in striker rebuilt his career after failing to score at Chelsea, where he played from the ages of seven to 19, and then flattering himself for cheating at Liverpool.
He made one first-team appearance for the Blues, then scored just one goal in 27 appearances for the Reds, before joining Bournemouth in 2019 for a handsome £19m fee.
It took time for Solanke to get back on his feet for the Cherries, and the England foreigner scored just 4 times in his first 46 appearances in all competitions.
However, it came to life when Dorset crashed in the championship. In the 2020/21 campaign, Solanke scored 15 goals and the following season he doubled his tally as Bournemouth secured promotion to the Premier League.
Although his seven goals in 35 games didn’t set the world on fire when they returned to the English top flight in 2023/23, they were enough to keep the Cherries in the league, before he came alive last season.
Solanke tied for fourth with Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins and Manchester City’s Phil Foden in Premier League goals scored (19), with only Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak (21), Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (22) and Erling Haaland of City (27) ahead of him. .
The former Vitesse loanee, who scored 21 goals and provided four assists in all competitions in 2023/24, has been linked with Chelsea and Arsenal, but Spurs’ interest is more specific.
Postecoglou’s side were looking for a new number nine after struggling to update the targets left by Harry Kane following his move to Bayern Munich last summer.
Richarlison has yet to justify his £60m value and without Son Heung-min’s 17 goals last season, Tottenham would have had all sorts of problems.
Despite being linked with Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Lille’s Jonathan David, among others, TEAMtalk can reveal that Solanke is Spurs’ ideal selection to lead their line for next season.
Our resources have shown that he is willing to sign for the north London side and Tottenham have spoken to the 26-year-old’s agents.
Coach Postecoglou is also an admirer of Solanke, who caused centre-back duo Emerson Royal and Ben Davies all sorts of upheaval with his speed and movement when they met last December at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Although the striker has a £65m release clause, which only a select handful of unnamed clubs can apply, Tottenham’s £60m may be enough to secure his services.
Solanke has an important player for Bournemouth and they will need to retain their talisman, whose contract runs until the summer of 2027 at the Vitality Stadium.