Solanke’s first Spurs goal – the turning point for Postecoglou?

Dominic Solanke was Tottenham Hotspur’s biggest signing of the summer. This was reflected in the £60m fee the North London club paid to land him from Bournemouth, but also in the role he was signed to play. Nobody could ever truly replace Harry Kane, but Spurs needed a new centre forward and Solanke fit the bill.

By finding the back of the net and getting off the mark as a Spurs player in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Brentford, Solanke helped ease some of the pressure that had been building at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. His goal could prove to be a turning point in Spurs’ season and Ange Postecoglou’s time in charge.

Solanke was signed for more than just his goalscoring. Postecoglou wanted a centre forward that could press from the front and this is something Solanke did for Bournemouth. The 27-year-old also has the all-round game to provide a link between the midfield and attack and demonstrated this quality even as Spurs lost to Arsenal in the North London Derby.

Despite this, Solanke was always likely to be judged on his goalscoring and that’s why breaking his duck against Brentford was so important. Tottenham need a finisher to give them cutting edge in the final third and the hope is that Solanke’s role as a focal point will get the best out of other attackers like Son Heung-min and Brennan Johnson.

“The guy has played less than two [full] games for us,” said Postecoglou after the win over Brentford, addressing some of the criticism Solanke had come in for since joining Spurs. “If he has gone 15 games without a goal then I can answer that question or 15 games where he hasn’t contributed, but I just think ‘take a breath, do a bit of yoga. Think about the world for a second and make an assessment after that.’

“We don’t have to rush to make judgement all the time because the alternative is he may have got off to a great start, he is fit, scored in all four games, is flying and then he goes through a patch like all strikers where he doesn’t score. I just don’t look at those things. What I look at is he has come in, fitted really well and quite logically has picked up an injury that has disrupted the way he wanted to start his career, but he’s still got plenty of time for that.”

Tottenham are very much a work-in-progress under Postecoglou. The Australian has instilled a new set of principles and values that have taken root in some areas of the team, but have still to be adopted in others. This unevenness has been clear in the consistency of Spurs’ results over the early part of the season. Some supporters have expressed their frustration at the lack of progress.

Having won just two of their opening five league fixtures, Tottenham’s commitment to the Postecoglou project has been tested. The potential of Spurs under the Australian coach has been demonstrated at times, but concerns have been raised over the feasibility of Postecoglou’s team playing such a high-energy game on a consistent basis.

Solanke, however, is the sort of player who could help buy Postecoglou more time for the long term by delivering in the short term. At 27, the former Chelsea and Liverpool striker has arrived in North London having learned a lot from his past experiences and is ready to take the next step for Tottenham. Solanke’s first goal for Spurs will surely lead to many more. That’s what Postecoglou is counting on.