Tottenham Hotspur continued to prepare for the preseason of its 2025/26 campaign, continuing an interesting split of two games with Luton Town and Wycombe Wanderers on the same day.
Lily White couldn’t win either match in the mix of first team and youth players as he endured a 0-0 draw by the Hatters and a 2-2 draw by the choir boys.
Newly signed Mohamed Kudus, who arrived from Premier League rival West Ham United, played in goalless draws with Luton and failed to help the team defeat the deadlock.
However, one player who was not acting in either game was centre forward Dominix Solanke.
England International is the club’s only senior, natural, number 9 option, missing 14 games with injuries in the 2024/25 campaign.
Why do Spurs need to sign a new centre forward?
Lily White should be in the market to sign another scorer, as the team seriously lacked a consistent scorer in the Premier League, as evidenced by the end of the year as Brennan Johnson finishes as the top scorer with 11 goals.
Solanke’s fitness issues are a concern. This is due to 14 games he missed his final semester and an ankle injury he already maintains in the preseason, but also his performance when Fit is concerned.
The 27-year-old centre forward didn’t enjoy a particularly impressive debut season with the Spurs before the goal as the previous Bournemouth attacker couldn’t hit double digits in a Premier League goal.
Solanke finished the season with 16 goal returns in 45 matches in all Lily White’s tournaments, but he reduced his performance against XG of 16.55, with only nine of those goals coming to the top flight.
The English Marksman scored nine goals from 10.97 xg in the Premier League and five goals from 5.58 xg in the Spurs’ Europa League.
24/25 Premier League | Dominique Solanke |
---|---|
exterior | 27 |
xg | 10.97 |
the goal | 9 |
Per target | 245 |
I missed a big opportunity | 12 |
Shah | 1.15 |
assist | 3 |
Statistics via Sofascore |
As you can see in the table above, the former Cherry attacker missed too many “big chances” on the top flight, not an Ange Postecoglou’s reliable score.
It is still unclear now whether Thomas Frank can bolster his game to become a consistent scorer who has to push his team to the table next season.
That’s why clubs have to sign a new number 9 option to strengthen their teams. They are reportedly looking at the forwards that will become a major upgrade for Solanke.
Spurs explore deals with prolific strikers
According to CatedOffside, Tottenham Hotspur is one of many clubs exploring the potential of Al Giral centre forward Alexander Mitrovich’s deal.
The report claims that Premier League sides Newcastle United, Manchester United and Spurs are all eager to dive Serbia International during the summer transfer period.
Tottenham says he wants to add new players to the forward line this summer due to the declining shape of Richarrison and Hyun Min’s son, and sees them as players who can become a viable alternative for Solanke next season.
CatedOffside adds that Al Hilal is looking for fees in the area of around 30 million euros (£26 million) to sanction a summer transfer at the heart of the prolific trade.
However, it remains to be seen whether Spurs, Newcastle or Manchester United are ready to pay the £26 million needed to secure his service in the coming weeks.
Why do the Spurs need to sign Mitrovich?
Lily White will have to push to win the experienced number 9 races at the end of the summer transfer window, as it comes as a massive Solanke upgrade for Frank.
As mentioned earlier, current Spurs Number 9 struggles to score regularly and was a useless finisher in the Premier League, but that’s not the case with Mitrovich in North London.
The former Fulham 30-year-old star has scored 68 goals and 15 assists in Al Hilal’s 79 appearances since his move from the cottage in 2023.
He also produced an astounding return of 111 goals in 206 matches in his time in England.
Mitrovich, who was described as an “absolute monster” by Saudi news journalist Matt Monaghan, is an experienced and proven goalsman who can come to offer far more than Solanke in front of goals in the Premier League next season.
Mitrovic (Saudia professional league) | 23/24 | 24/25 |
---|---|---|
exterior | 28 | twenty three |
xg | 26.60 | 17.41 |
the goal | 28 | 19 |
Target xg | 26.26 | 22.12 |
Shah | 2.48 | 1.33 |
assist | 5 | 2 |
Statistics via FOTMOB |
As you can see in the table above, the Serbian Marksman scored 47 goals in the Saudi Arabian Pro League in two seasons, surpassing XG in both campaigns.
These statistics show that he is a very efficient forward who is able to consistently clean up the high-quality opportunities created for him, or who can clean up the plays he owns, created by his own movements.
Mitrovic also scored 14 goals in 23 Premier League starts in the 2022/23 campaign with Fulham before moving to Saudi Arabia.
In question marks about Spurs’ ability to become Solanke’s starting number nine, which he needs to kick next season, signing Al Hilal Star for £26 million for his inactive finish and overwhelming goal return is a very meaningful move this summer.
Related
More than Gibbs White: Spurs hit gold on “unbelievable” stars
Tottenham Hotspur has already shown their excellent business with one star signature.
Mitrovich could possibly appear as a major upgrade to England International if he could translate Saudi forms into the Premier League.