Dominic Solanke can still remember the ball falling to his feet in the box. It was the 90th minute of his England debut, having just come off the bench in a friendly against Brazil at Wembley Stadium. A heavy first touch let the ball slip away as Alisson Becker rushed out to block, and the moment was gone. A few minutes later the whistle blew on a 0-0 draw.
“That would have topped it off nicely,” Solanke smiles. “It was against Alisson as well, who I was at Liverpool with at the time, so it would have been great to score against him. But I’m still so happy to have had that moment.”
At full time, Solanke made a beeline for Neymar and swapped shirts. “I’ve still got it framed in my house,” he says. “It’s one of the greatest achievements of my career.”
That optimism is an essential part of the Solanke story. During a seven-year wait for his second cap, others might have given up hope of ever returning to the international fold. Now he is back after a hatful of goals for Bournemouth last season and three more this term for his new club, Tottenham.
It was not the dream start to his £65m move. Solanke, whose gleaming fitness record was one of the reasons Spurs identified him as a transfer target, hurt his ankle in the season’s opener against Leicester and missed two games. He did not make an immediate impact on his return, and three games without a goal prompted questions of manager Ange Postecoglou about whether his star striker was feeling the pressure.
“Take a breath, do a bit of yoga,” came Postecoglou’s response. Chill out and leave him be.
This story is from the October 09, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the October 09, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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