Tottenham spy on Prem’s third top scorer viewed as ‘better’ than rival striker with nine-figure fee
Tottenham striker target options Dominic Solanke and Evan Ferguson
Tottenham Hotspur have joined the race to sign Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth and will continue watching the striker in the second half of the season, a report has revealed.
There is still a space in the Tottenham squad for a centre-forward after the summer sale of Harry Kane, despite Son Heung-min thriving in a more central position since then and Richarlison recently recovering some form in front of goal.
According to The Sun, Tottenham have been watching Solanke in their search for a new striker. They will keep him under observation until the summer, when a deal would be more likely.
TEAMtalk revealed before Christmas that Bournemouth are against selling Solanke for any price in January.
Tottenham could test their resolve later in 2024, though, if Solanke keeps up the form that has seen him rise to joint third – alongside Son and West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen – in the Premier League’s top scorers chart by Christmas.
The Sun explains that Tottenham have decided he is a ‘better prospect’ than another of their targets from the South Coast, Brighton’s Evan Ferguson.
That is despite – or possibly because of – numerous reports that Ferguson is already rated in a bracket of fee above £100million.
Ferguson is appealing to several clubs and the same is becoming the case for Solanke, seven years his senior and much closer to the prime of his career at 26.
After previously failing to make it at Chelsea or Liverpool, Solanke – once capped by England in 2017 – could get the chance to represent a powerful club again.
Interestingly, he has also been linked with Tottenham’s north London rivals Arsenal in recent weeks, since they are also in the market for a new striker.
Whoever Bournemouth sell him to, they will have to give 20% of the fee back to Liverpool due to a sell-on clause written into their 2019 agreement.
Tottenham may have to spend big on Solanke
The report does not disclose what kind of fee could tempt Bournemouth in the summer, but other sources have suggested a valuation in the region of £50m.
That would mean Bournemouth banking £40m of the fee and giving £10m to Liverpool, for example.
A £50m fee would make Solanke one of Tottenham’s most expensive signings ever, so they would have to be convinced he is the right option for their attack.
With that in mind, delaying their approach until the summer and allowing themselves to see a full sample of his performances from this season makes sense.
Solanke is already enjoying the best top-flight goalscoring season of his career so far. His 11 Premier League goals from 17 appearances have outdone his return of six from 33 last term.
