Bournemouth have agreed to sell Dominic Solanke for a club-record fee, and talks with Tottenham Hotspur are ongoing to finalise a deal for the striker.
Solanke has also agreed personal terms, with the 26-year-old desperate for a move to the north London club.
He is under contract with Bournemouth until 2029 but, as The Athletic reported in June, the striker’s contract contains a £65million ($83m) release clause that can be triggered by certain clubs.
Spurs have not signed a senior striker since Harry Kane’s departure for Bayern Munich last summer.
Ange Postecoglou is keen to acquire a No 9 that suits his style of play and Solanke’s profile fits the bill.
“What’s important is the type of striker we get,” Postecoglou said during Tottenham’s pre-season tour of Japan. “You know we play a certain way. We demand certain things from a physical perspective from the technical aspects of it that it’s going be a striker that fits that mould.
“It’s still the area of the park we’re really probably the thinnest when I talk about squad-wise at the moment, so obviously that’s a focus for us.”
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Solanke registered his best top flight return last season, scoring 19 Premier League goals to help Bournemouth secure a 12th-placed finish.
Solanke began his career at Chelsea before joining Liverpool in 2017 on a free transfer.
He made the switch to Bournemouth for an undisclosed fee in 2019. The Merseyside club hold a 20 per cent sell-on clause from the deal and could receive as much as £9m if Spurs trigger his release clause.
Spurs have made two signings so far this summer with 18-year-old midfielders Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall arriving from Leeds United and Djurgarden respectively. The north London club have also agreed a deal to sign South Korean winger Yang Min-hyuk, who will join the squad in January.
Solanke missed out on selection for England’s European Championship squad, with Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins selected as back-ups to Kane.
Tottenham begin the 2024-25 Premier League campaign at newly-promoted Leicester City on August 19.
(George Wood/Getty Images)
