Dominic Solanke Set for First Start at Tottenham

Dominic Solanke is finally edging towards centre stage at Tottenham – and Roberto De Zerbi is ready to roll the dice.

The Spurs head coach confirmed the striker could make his first start since April when Everton visit north London on Saturday evening, or failing that, in the Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool on Tuesday.

“He’s very close,” De Zerbi said. “He’s a crucial player for us, Dom Solanke. For the characteristics, personality, level of the player. 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.”

Spurs’ missing No9

Solanke has been a near-constant absence in a side that has badly needed a focal point.

He has not started for Spurs since he limped off 40 minutes into last season’s vital 1-0 win at Wolves with a hamstring problem. The 28-year-old then spent most of the remainder of the campaign wrestling with a recurring ankle issue, missing the final four matches and watching from the bench as Tottenham scrambled over the line to secure Premier League survival on the last day.

The plan was simple: a full pre-season, a clean slate, and Solanke back leading the line from August.

Reality was slower. Spurs’ revamped medical department, led by performance director Dan Lewindon, chose caution. With Solanke’s injury history and concerns over jet lag, the club and De Zerbi agreed not to rush him, especially in a season where his minutes must be managed rather than burned.

The result? Just 114 minutes in all competitions so far. And those minutes have come while Tottenham have stumbled through a goal drought, failing to score in any of their first three league fixtures.

Goals leave, pressure builds

De Zerbi’s team have shown flashes of control and structure, enough to argue they have played better than their results. But the numbers on the scoreboard are brutal. No goals in the league, a flat 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest last weekend, and an attack that looks short of conviction as much as quality.

At the same time, the club has been happy to move on proven scorers.

• Brennan Johnson, top scorer in the 2024/25 campaign, was sold to Crystal Palace in January and is now preparing to line up for Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night.
• Spurs are also working on a departure for last season’s leading marksman, Richarlison, with Vasco da Gama pushing hard to take him back to Brazil.

That follows the exits of Heung Min-Son and Harry Kane in recent seasons. A huge amount of firepower has walked out of the door.

De Zerbi, though, is not panicking about the outflow of goals. He keeps circling back to what he believes is already in the building.

“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.”

Time to deliver

That is the challenge now. The patience around Solanke’s recovery has been deliberate. The medical team have done their part. De Zerbi has shielded his striker from being thrown in half-fit.

Now the equation changes.

Spurs are winless, goalless in the league, and about to face an Everton side who can call on a forward they once relied on, in Johnson. The margins are thin, the mood restless.

If Solanke is as close as De Zerbi insists, this is the moment for him to step out of the treatment-room shadow and back into the spotlight. Tottenham do not just need him available.

They need him scoring.