Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has expressed his satisfaction with Dominic Solanke’s progress, after the striker played a key role in their 3-0 Europa League victory over Qarabag on Thursday. Solanke, who joined Spurs from Bournemouth in a deal worth up to £65 million, has endured a somewhat slow start to his time in North London. He missed two games following his debut due to an ankle injury.
However, the 27-year-old is beginning to find his feet. His 68th-minute strike against Qarabag was his second goal in as many games, following his goal in the Premier League victory over Brentford.
“He’s getting there. He didn’t do pre-season with us and then he has one game and then he’s out for two weeks, while the other guys were building up their match fitness,” Postecoglou said in his post-match press conference.
“Great for him to get another goal, but his all-round performance was really strong. When you’re down to 10 men, you need your striker to be able to hold up the play and do some hard running,” he added.
Solanke’s performance was even more impressive considering Tottenham were reduced to 10 men early in the game. Postecoglou also praised the contribution of 23-year-old attacker Brennan Johnson, who has scored in three consecutive games since Spurs’ 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
“Brennan was really important for us, particularly today going down to 10 men pretty early, we’re going to need some attacking outlet,” Postecoglou said.
“Brennan’s been good at taking up those positions and him and Dom have a good little sort of relationship there in terms of working off each other and he took his goal well,” Postecoglou added.
The win over Qarabag was a crucial one for Tottenham, who are looking to make a strong run in the Europa League. Solanke’s resurgence will be a welcome boost for Spurs as they look to maintain their momentum both domestically and in Europe.
