Dominic Solanke was dealt an impossible task when he arrived at Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2024. He had to replace Harry Kane.
Now, whatever your name was, you were always going to find it difficult to live up to the striker’s performances in north London.
However, for £65m, Solanke has simply not been worth the money. While the former Bournemouth man did score 16 times during his debut season, he only found the net on six occasions during an injury-hit 2025/26.
Now, without a goal in his first five Premier League matches of the new term, it begs the question: how can Roberto De Zerbi get his attack firing?
How can Tottenham improve their forward line?
Spurs spent over £300m on improving their team over the summer but after scoring just two goals in their opening handful of Premier League matches, you do have to wonder where all of that money has gone.
This has been a wretched start to the new campaign. It’s their worst since Mauricio Pochettino left; not even Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank oversaw worse starts.
So, what’s the solution? Well, finding a more creative player to operate in the no.10 position would be a start. De Zerbi exclaimed that he “didn’t like” the performance of Mateus Fernandes against Aston Villa. That much was clear when he subbed him at half-time.
In that game, he failed to provide a single key pass. That won’t help Spurs in the slightest.
The good news is that while Xavi Simons is still on the sidelines due to a ruptured ACL, Mohammed Kudus and James Maddison are back in the squad. Dejan Kulusevski is not far off returning either.
For the likes of Solanke and new signing Omar Marmoush, that will be music to their ears.
Alas, the former has proven that even when he has good service, he does not have what it takes to be the starting striker for Tottenham. As a result, it is surely time to give Marmoush a run of games as the no.9.
He played off the left against Villa and has not exactly caught the eye from a wide role as yet. He had just one shot in that match prior to the international break.
For a player as ruthless in the penalty area as the Egyptian, De Zerbi needs to get him closer to goal. Fielding him as the centre-forward and replacing Fernandes would surely see some improved performances in the final third.
Could the academy provide Tottenham with an answer?
Not since Kane have Tottenham produced a young striker capable of making the grade at first-team level.
It’s not as though they haven’t tried, though. Sadly for Spurs, two potential options in Troy Parrott and Will Lankshear have now both moved on.
So, who’s next? In time, 19-year-old Mikey Moore could be the leading man of the attack. 17-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett, who is making waves behind the scenes, is another option for that role.
He’s supremely versatile and he knows where the net is, scoring 16 goals in 19 appearances last season at youth team level.
One player who is unlikely to be the answer, however, is young Jamie Donley. The 21-year-old caught the eye of the manager in pre-season, with Spurs reporter Alasdair Gold outlining that the Italian is a big fan.
Gold stated: “Jamie Donley has impressed Roberto De Zerbi so far in pre-season. I can see why. He’s got a lot of ability, a bit of a wand of a left foot, and I can see why De Zerbi would like him because he can be an 8, he can be a 10, obviously De Zerbi being a former 10 himself. He’s very creative, apparently he’s looked really fit and sharp in training as well.”
That said, with so many new signings over the summer, Spurs loaned Donley out to League One Luton Town, where he is playing under Jack Wilshere.
To date, the former Arsenal man has utilised Donley as a winger and as an attacking midfielder. He has one goal and one assist to show for his efforts.
De Zerbi may well rate him, but his early performances for the Hatters are not doing much to convince the head coach that he has a long-term future at Spurs. His performance for Northern Ireland against Hungary on Monday evening would not have helped either.
Donley was selected out of position as the centre-forward in that one. It was the perfect opportunity for him to stake a claim, to show why he should have a future at Spurs, to demonstrate why he could replace Solanke long-term.
Sadly, he wasted his opportunity. The youngster was not a disaster, but he was relatively ineffective at leading the line. The Hungarians allowed him just 12 touches of the ball, of which just two were in the penalty box, before he was withdrawn after 70 minutes.
Furthermore, Donley completed only three passes all night and managed only one shot on target. It’s safe to say that the experiment to play the Luton loanee up top did not work.
Sadly for the academy graduate, it looks like he may have to flee as Lankshear and Parrott did. He is not the Solanke solution Spurs are searching for. His performances at the beginning of the season are all the evidence De Zerbi needs.