The £13 million sensation must be used by the Tottenham manager against the Clarets this afternoon.
Ange Postecoglou’s team will be looking to bounce back from their recent Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Fulham by defeating newly promoted Burnley at home this afternoon in order to retain their unblemished start to the current Premier League season.
The sudden exit from the competition soured the mood amid a largely impressive month for the Lilywhites after a much-changed Spurs team lost on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage in regulation time. This further limited their chances of ending their now 15-year trophy drought.
The north London team has since earned 2-0 victories over both Manchester United and AFC Bournemouth to put themselves in the contention at the top of the league, with the change in the dugout currently appearing to be paying off.
However, as the midweek defeat to the Cottagers demonstrated, Postecoglou still has a lot of work to do if he is to successfully turn around the club’s fortunes for the remainder of this season and beyond.
Rely wary of complacency against a Clarets sides who are yet to earn a point since returning to the top-flight.
Will Tottenham make changes against Burnley?
Only Richarlison and Micky van de Ven remained in their positions against Marco Silva’s team, so Postecoglou is likely to go back to the same lineup that defeated the Cherries just a few days earlier. Postecoglou made nine changes for the trip to west London on Tuesday night.
Though Heung-min Son and Richarlison have yet to register their first league goal or assist, the new manager may still be waiting for his attacking unit, in particular, to really get going.
With that in mind, it may be time for Postecoglou to shake things up somewhat and hand a first top-flight start of the season to summer signing, Manor Solomon, with the former Shakhtar Donetsk ace having shown flashes of his quality in midweek.
How good is Manor Solomon?
The Israeli international, who joined the north Londoners on a free transfer, was probably one of the more modest additions of the summer window, however there have already been hints of the attacking threat the 24-year-old can provide to his new team in the years to come.
The wideman has been limited to just one substitute appearance in the top tier this season after scoring four league goals during a previously injury-interrupted loan season at Fulham last season. He came off the bench late against Man United.
However, earlier this week against his previous employers, the 5 foot 7 speedster demonstrated his “quick feet on the ball,” according to Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard, and he even came close to scoring with a lovely curling effort.
In that game, the £13 million rated ace showed he is willing to put in the long defensive hours by successfully completing three of his five attempted dribbles as a demonstration of his drive to make things happen in the final third. He also won six of his 12 ground duels.
The match against Vincent Kompany’s team today, which Postecoglou has largely ignored in the league thus far, could be an opportunity for that to change. Journalist Paul Brown previously told Football FanCast that Solomon could be a “good weapon” for his new team because he has a “knack for goals.”
While the new player has largely played a supporting role in the early weeks of the season, if given a bigger role this afternoon, he might very well represent a hidden ‘weapon’.
