In recent years, Tottenham Hotspur have not been afraid to spend money in attacking areas, as seen in the signing of Roberto Soldado in 2013.
The Spaniard was snapped up by La Liga side Valencia for a whopping £26 million, a club record deal at the time during former president Daniel Levy’s tenure.
However, such a move was a disaster for all parties involved in the deal, with the forward scoring just 16 goals in 76 appearances across all competitions for the Lilywhites.
A disastrous spell in north London saw him leave after just two years, before returning home at a loss of £16 million and joining Villarreal.
Although the deal for Soldado fell through, it did not stop the division from making a number of other big-money moves to improve their standing in the Premier League.
Richarlison’s failure at Tottenham
In the summer of 2022, Spurs once again spent big on a new centre-forward, with Brazilian international Richarlison joining from Everton in a £50m deal.
Considering the amount of money spent on his signature, this move has caused a lot of excitement among fans, but it is safe to say that the move has not lived up to expectations.
The 28-year-old has made 101 appearances for the Lilywhites since his move, but has scored in just 23, averaging a goal every five games at the moment.
He has also received offers from new manager Thomas Frank in recent months, but has failed to reciprocate the faith the Dane has shown in him with recent performances.
Over the last two games, against Bod Grimmt and Wolves, he only managed 30 touches in total, going on to record the fewest touches of any player on the pitch in both competitions.
He remained in north London, although he was heavily linked with a summer move to Galatasaray during the recent period, a decision they may end up regretting.
However, another player has also struggled to live up to the lofty expectations upon his arrival in north London, despite his recent lack of impact.
Spurs star compared to Kane
Harry Kane is a player who has really captured the hearts of the Spurs fan base, and it’s no surprise given his incredible goalscoring exploits in North London.
The Englishman scored an incredible 280 goals during his 10 years with the Lilywhites’ first team, making him the club’s all-time top scorer.
However, his goal-scoring exploits did not bring the club any concrete success, and then due to class reasons he was allowed to transfer to Bayern Munich to further his career.
The club would recoup a fee of around £82m in Richarlison’s deal, but with Richarlison likely to be a mainstay in the 2023/24 season, such funds would not have been spent in the same slot.
With Dominic Solanke joining Spurs from fellow top-flight side Bournemouth in a club-record £65m deal in the summer of 2024, money will be invested in a new talisman in the following year.
As with Richarlison, such a move would create a lot of buzz within the club, especially after he scored 16 goals in all competitions in his first season in North London.
Such form has led John Wenham to compare his skill set and assets to Kane’s, but it’s safe to say his career at the club has significantly stalled in recent months.
Wenham said of Solanke’s early career at Spurs: “He was holding the ball, pressing up front and winning free-kicks, something I haven’t seen from a Tottenham striker since Kane.”
Dominic Solanke – PL statistics (2024/25) | |
|---|---|
Statistics (every 90) | tally |
games played | 27 |
Number of points scored | 9 |
Pass accuracy | 71% |
shot on target | 0.9 |
An opportunity has arisen | 0.5 |
dribbling success | 35% |
aerial won | 42% |
Number of fouls committed | 1.5 |
Statistics by FotMob | |
Solanke has been restricted to just 31 minutes in the Premier League this season, with injuries hampering his progress at the club in Frank’s first few weeks as manager.
The Spaniard also scored frequently in his first season, but struggled to repeat that form the following year.
There is still time to get his Lilywhites career back on track, but it’s safe to say that his time at the club has yet to live up to the expectations many had upon his arrival.
Replacing Kane in the final third has always been a near-impossible task, but given their respective recent spells, the differences between the pair are rapidly becoming apparent.
He will need to quickly regain fitness to prove his worth. If not, he could certainly suffer the same fate and go down as another big-money failure in north London.
