Ange on Solanke: "It’s a great time for us to bring him in"

Ange Postecoglou has said new striker Dominic Solanke’s footballing journey to date has made him more motivated than ever to succeed at the Club.

Signed from AFC Bournemouth on Saturday 10 August, our latest addition brings plenty of Premier League experience but has had to work hard to overcome setbacks from challenging spells with Chelsea and Liverpool at the start of his career.

After over five seasons with the Cherries, the 26-year-old arrived in north London off the back of his best-ever top-flight return with 19 goals in an ever-present campaign and Ange feels the move is the right fit at the right time for both player and team.

"We have got him at a really good time in his career," our Head Coach explained. "He has had to work his way back up which I always think is a good thing.

"Sometimes when careers go smoothly you wonder how people will handle setbacks but he had setbacks earlier in his career. He has fought his way back and has become a really good Premier League striker now.

"He is really keen to push on. He wants to improve and make an impact so I think it’s a great time for us to bring him in."

Watch - Solanke's first interview

A product of the Blues academy, the centre-forward was prolific at youth level but found it difficult to breakthrough after making his first team debut as a substitute against NK Maribor in the UEFA Champions League in October, 2014.

That remained his sole appearance for the senior side and, after a loan to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem in between, Liverpool signed the then 19-year-old ahead of the 2017/18 campaign where he made 21 appearances, 16 from the bench, and scored his first Premier League goal on the final day against Brighton.

Despite earning his England cap as a substitute against Brazil during his maiden season on Merseyside, the striker found it challenging to secure a regular starting place for the Reds and didn’t feature at all the following season before securing a move to Bournemouth from January, 2019.

During his time on the south coast, he made 216 appearances in all competitions, scoring 77 goals, and last term ended as the joint-fourth highest scorer in the division as the Cherries finished 12th, becoming only the 10th player in the league’s history to score as many as 19 goals for a bottom-half side in the process.

"You look at players who've had interesting journeys and with some players, things happen really early in their careers and they go really well, but then there's inevitable stumbles along the way and you want to see how they react," added Ange.

Watch - Go behind the scenes as Solanke signed for Spurs

"But Dom had a very bright start to his career and he was at big clubs, which every player aspires to, but for one reason or another, it didn't work out for him, but the fact that he's got himself back to this position where he's again one of the premier strikers in the Premier League.

"It's a testament to his character and he's only 26, so I think probably because of those early challenges he had, I think he's going try to push and have a really strong and impactful, meaningful years from now on.

"Players certainly have options out there and you kind of what to understand the motivations for why a player would want to come to us. Since I spoke to him, I got a real sense he had a really burning desire to take his football to another level and really challenge himself at a big club. He is keen to make an impact and our job is to make sure we provide that platform for him."

As well as possessing quality attacking attributes to bolster our options up top, overall our Head Coach is pleased to secure a player that is in a good place in his career as well as strengthening a position that we were light in last season due to missing Richarlison to injury for an extended period of time.

"He was obviously one I was very keen to get in," continued Ange. "I think he will be a great fit for us in terms of the player he is and the point of his career where he is at.

"We identified him because he has the attributes we are looking for in terms of our position. He gives us some things we probably have been missing in the last 12 months, particularly when Richarlison was out last year.

"When Richy played he was very effective for us, it was quite evident when he was out we didn’t really have a player who can make the impact. Dom can in the final third and just with his general play. I think he will be a good fit for us."