Manor Solomon close to Tottenham return, in line to feature v Manchester City in FA Cup
Tottenham are in desperate need of attacking reinforcements, which makes the nearing return of Manor Solomon all the more timely.
Considering the lack of options Ange Postecoglou has at his disposal right now, the Australian would have been hoping for a favourable draw in the FA Cup.
Instead, he was handed arguably the most difficult option available, with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City set to visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium later this month to battle for a place in the fifth round of the competition.
Son Heung-min, James Maddison, Cristian Romero, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr, to name a few, are all likely to miss out against City, five players who have been first-team regulars when they have been available this season.
Ivan Perisic and Alejo Veliz are injured, leaving Tottenham very light at the top end of the pitch. As a result, the news that Solomon is close to his return will be music to Spurs supporters’ ears.
As reported by the Evening Standard (9 January), the 24-year-old hopes to be back in first-team training early next week, and is targeting a return to action in the FA Cup fourth-round clash with City, which is scheduled to take place on the weekend of 27-28 January.
The Israel international has been sidelined since early October after suffering a meniscus injury to his right knee in training, which required surgery.
Having arrived in north London on a free transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk this past summer, Solomon’s injury has limited him to just six appearances in a Spurs shirt so far, with three of those being starts.
He has had little chance to show Postecoglou and his new fans what he can do, although when he has played, he has certainly impressed.
His first start for Tottenham came against Fulham at Craven Cottage (29 August), where he spent half of the 2022/23 campaign on loan with Marco Silva’s side. Although that night ended in defeat, as Postecoglou’s men were dumped out of the Carabao Cup on penalties, Solomon proved he was a threat in possession, completing four of his six dribbles, and one to watch out for this year (Sofascore).
Solomon was handed his first league start later that week (2 September), and put in a very memorable performance, twice assisting Son in a 5-2 win against Burnley at Turf Moor. The winger completed 91 per cent of his passes, with five of those being key, and was successful with three of his five dribble attempts and five of his seven ground duels.
He was rewarded for this performance with another league start in the 2-1 home win against Sheffield United (16 September) where he played four key passes and was successful with four of his eight dribbles.
Although he was dropped to the bench for the 2-2 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates (24 September) and the 2-1 home win against Liverpool (30 September), his cameo displays were still encouraging, completing 100 per cent of his dribbles when he came off the bench against the Gunners and completing 100 per cent of his passes, with three of those being key, during his 21 minutes on the pitch against Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Solomon has averaged 2.4 key passes a game this season as well as a passing accuracy of 91 per cent. He chips in defensively as well, averaging 2.2 ball recoveries and 0.6 interceptions per match, and could yet blossom into a key player for Postecoglou.
His return certainly shouldn’t be underestimated, and the forward will hope to mark that return in style by providing a meaningful impact against the Premier League champions later this month, and helping his side move one step closer to ending their 16-year trophy drought.
In other Tottenham news, the club are battling with Manchester United scouting staff in their pursuit of one young playmaker.