Dominic Solanke Set for First Spurs Start Since April

Roberto De Zerbi has thrown down the gauntlet to his forwards and opened the door for Dominic Solanke to finally walk back through it.

The Tottenham head coach revealed the striker is “very close” to making his first start since April when Spurs host Everton on Saturday evening, with the Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool on Tuesday the fallback if he is not risked this weekend.

Solanke has been a ghost presence in this campaign. Just 114 minutes in all competitions, no starts, and a front line that has yet to score a single league goal without him.

Long road back

His absence has felt longer than the calendar suggests. Solanke’s last start came in that tense 1-0 win away at Wolves late last season, when a hamstring problem forced him off after only 40 minutes of a game that proved crucial to Spurs’ survival.

The 28-year-old then spent most of the run-in wrestling with a recurring ankle issue. He did not feature at all in the final four matches, reduced to a spectator as Tottenham clung to their Premier League status on the final day.

A full pre-season was supposed to reset everything. Fresh start, clean slate, new campaign with Solanke leading the line. It never quite happened.

Tottenham’s revamped medical department, reshaped under performance director Dan Lewindon, opted for caution. With Solanke’s injury record and concerns over jet lag thrown into the mix, De Zerbi and the club’s staff agreed not to rush him back.

The result: a striker Spurs badly need has barely been seen, while the team have gone three league games without a goal.

De Zerbi’s call

Asked directly when Solanke would be ready to start, De Zerbi did not hide behind vague timelines.

“I think he is close. He’s a crucial player for us, Dom Solanke. For the characteristics, personality, level of the player,” he 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.”

Twice on the bench, no start yet. That is likely to change within the next four days.

Spurs remain winless in the Premier League but their performances have carried more intent than the results suggest. The glaring problem is obvious: the ball is not crossing the line.

The 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest last weekend laid it bare. Plenty of possession, little incision, a side that looked short of ideas and even shorter of conviction in the final third.

Goals sold, pressure rising

This is a club that has waved goodbye to goals for some time now. 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 for Everton against his former side.

Last season’s leading marksman, Richarlison, is also edging towards the exit, with Brazilian club Vasco da Gama pushing hard to take him back to his homeland.

Before that, of course, came the headline departures: Heung Min-Son and Harry Kane, two forwards who defined an era of Tottenham attacking play.

Yet De Zerbi is not panicking about the firepower that has walked out of the door. He is looking instead at what is still in the building – and demanding more.

“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 fit-again centre-forward who has waited months for his moment, and a manager making it clear that reputations count for little if the net does not bulge.

Everton on Saturday. Liverpool on Tuesday. Somewhere in that double-header, Dominic Solanke’s season truly starts – and with it, Tottenham’s attack either wakes up or the questions get a lot louder.