Tottenham Hotspur have prized away striker Dominic Solanke from fellow Premiership rivals Bournemouth with the clubs reaching an agreement.
Tottenham have reached an agreement with Bournemouth over the signing of forward Dominic Solanke.
Spurs have been on the hunt for attacking reinforcements all summer and after Solanke emerged as the club’s preferred candidate, advanced talks began with the Cherries.
They have now accelerated and discussions over a fee were wrapped up on Friday afternoon with Tottenham set to spend an initial ($A107 million) on securing the services of Solanke, with a further $A19.5m included in the deal as add-ons, the PA news agency understands.
Bournemouth owner Bill Foley had confirmed earlier this summer Solanke’s contract included a release clause in the region of $A126m and his anticipated exit will be a club-record sale for the Cherries.
Nathan Ake’s $A77m transfer to Manchester City in 2020 was Bournemouth’s previous biggest departure and if Solanke can be a success in north London, his move could surpass Spurs’ $A122m record deal for Tanguy Ndombele in 2019.
While Solanke’s arrival on the eve of the new season appears far from ideal, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has confidence new signings can have an instant impact.
Speaking earlier on Friday, Postecoglou said: “I have always felt that if you get the recruitment right then whoever it is hits the ground running.
“We signed Mickey van de Ven three days before the first game last year against Brentford and we threw him straight in. He literally hit the ground running.
“We are trying to identify players who fit into our style of football. There will be a bit of adjustment but hopefully they will already have those qualities to come into the group and contribute straight away.
“That is my expectation when we sign someone. They will be ready to contribute from the moment they arrive.”
Postecoglou gave the green light for Spurs to pursue Solanke after the best season of his career.
Solanke scored 21 goals in all competitions for Bournemouth last term – including 19 in the Premier League – but also caught the eye with his pressing statistics and link-up play for Andoni Iraola’s side.
His transfer to Tottenham will give Solanke another opportunity at a top-six club, after he progressed through Chelsea’s academy before departing for Liverpool in 2017.
The immediate focus for Postecoglou is on Saturday’s friendly with Bayern Munich, with Harry Kane returning to Tottenham for the first time since his $A194m exit last August.
But the Australian was quick to point out any incoming attacker is not a replacement for Kane.
“We showed last year that we were still a threatening team going forward without Harry. We are talking about a generational talent here, he was never going to be replaced, but invariably there will always be comparisons,” Postecoglou added.
“It’s pretty evident from the way we play that we are never going to be reliant on one player. When we are up and running we can score from many different areas.
“Hopefully the striker, when he is playing in our system, is a beneficiary of that as well as a contributor.”
Bournemouth boss Iraola had accepted Solanke would be a “big miss.”
“He is very complete, he helps us in all the phases of the game. He would be a big miss, obviously.”
Tottenham have four stars to axe to fund Dominic Solanke transfer as Richarlison stays
Tottenham’s chances of affording a deal for Dominic Solanke could depend on selling some of their fringe players in the squad.
Tottenham’s pursuit of Dominic Solanke could hinge on making room for the striker by offloading some of their fringe players.
Ange Postecoglou wants to sign the 26-year-old, who bagged 19 goals for Bournemouth in the 2023-24 campaign, to bolster his frontline.
The former Chelsea academy graduate is also keen on a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, although Richarlison’s decision to snub a £60m transfer to Saudi Arabia could put a dent in their plans.
However, the north London outfit still have other ways of raising the funds to sign the Bournemouth star. Express Sport looks at four alternative players who could be sold to raise the £65m needed to meet their demands.
Oliver Skipp
Ange Postecoglou handed only five Premier League starts and 698 minutes of action to Skipp in total last season, suggesting he could be open to letting the midfielder leave with interest from Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich Town.
Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma are all ahead of Skipp in the pecking order for the two places in the double pivot. That makes him vulnerable to being sold, even after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s loan move to Marseille.
Transfermarkt value him at £12.8m, which may be less than Spurs would ask for in this market. Skipp is only 23 and qualifies as a homegrown player for any Premier League club, and with over 100 appearances is quite experienced already.
Skipp’s contract still has three years to run until 2027, so he won’t be forced out by any means. But if Spurs receive a tempting offer this summer, their loyalty to the youngster might be tested.
Giovani Lo Celso
Behind James Maddison and perhaps Alfie Devine in the Spurs pecking order, Lo Celso is expected to end his four-year spell in north London this summer.
The 28-year-old has scored only three goals in 49 Premier League appearances since joining from Real Betis in a £55m deal in 2020. The Argentinian has spent 18 months on loan with Villarreal, who didn’t take up their option to sign him at the end of the 2022-23 season.
It emerged in July that Aston Villa were open to a swap deal involving Lo Celso and Jacob Ramsey, but the mooted deal did not materialise.
The playmaker is keen to return to Betis this summer and while the fee would be a huge reduction on what Spurs paid, anything in the region of £10m-15m would represent a welcome boost to their transfer funds.
Sergio Reguilon
Spurs flogged the left-back to two different clubs in the 2023-24 season, indicating the Spain international simply isn’t a part of Postecoglou’s plans going forward.
Reguilon was a £25m arrival from Real Madrid in 2021 but, like Lo Celso, has struggled to lock down a regular spot and has made 67 appearances in total for the club.
Having been signed as emergency loan cover by Manchester United to cope with their left-back crisis, the Red Devils only used him 12 times before sending the Spaniard back to London in January.
He moved on loan to Brentford, and the good news is that his performances for the Bees were quietly impressive, giving the 27-year-old a fighting chance of earning a permanent move this summer. They would do well to get anything close to £10m for the full-back, but every little helps towards the £65m needed for Solanke.
Emerson Royal
Richarlison could soon be the only Brazilian left at the club as AC Milan close in on the signing of his close friend Emerson Royal
The ex-Barcelona defender has been a bit-part player since arriving at the club and isn’t guaranteed first-team football under Postecoglou.
The Rossoneri are determined to land the Brazil international and reports in Italy suggest a deal is close, boosting Tottenham’s transfer budget – even if it means taking a loss on the £30m paid to sign him three years ago. Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio and Calciomercat value the deal at £12.8m (€15m) plus £1.6m (€2m) in bonuses.
Add together all four potential sales of Skipp, Reguilon, Lo Celso and Emerson, and Postecoglou could get his man without spending a net amount.
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