‘I’ll definitely be ready’ -awaited England return

Tottenham Hotspur’s Dominic Solanke was in a confident mood after earning his first England call-up in almost seven years this month.

The 27-year-old made a 15-minute cameo towards the beginning of Gareth Southgate’s tenure in a friendly against Brazil in November 2017. Solanke managed to nutmeg Fernandinho and forced a fine save from Alisson but was never recalled by Southgate as he struggled for game time at Liverpool.

Following a goal-laden five-and-a-half years at Bournemouth, Tottenham snapped up Solanke over the summer in a deal worth as much as £65m if all add-ons are met – which would be a club record. Spurs’ new number 19 was sidelined with an ankle injury ahead of September’s international break, but has been included in Lee Carsley’s second squad for this month’s UEFA Nations League fixtures against Greece on Thursday before a trip to Finland three days later.

“I’ve come a long way since last time I was here and I played a lot of football, got a lot of experience, and I feel great in confidence right now,” Solanke told the assembled media on Tuesday, as quoted by The Times. “If I’m called upon, I’ll definitely be ready.”

Solanke was only 20 when he replaced Jamie Vardy in the 75th minute against Brazil. “I feel like when I first came I was quite young,” he later admitted. Despite amassing 56 appearances for England‘s under-age national teams by the time of his senior call-up, the Chelsea academy graduate had never made a Premier League start.

Beyond a steady trickle of strikes, which swelled with a 19-goal haul for Bournemouth last term, extensive top-flight experience has aided Solanke’s development since his premature England debut. “I’ve played a lot of games since then [and got] a lot of minutes, a lot of goals. So I feel like I’m mentally and physically in a better place.”

Dominic Solanke’s experience before and after England debut

Harry Kane has been England’s undisputed first-choice striker since 2015. The Bayern Munich forward was named captain of his national team ahead of the 2018 World Cup and earned his 100th cap in last month’s 2-0 victory over Finland at Wembley.

But the 31-year-old has been forced to train in isolation at St George’s Park ahead of Greece’s impending visit while he manages an injury sustained during Bayern’s 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. If Carsley is inclined to rest his number nine in either fixture, the Spurs man offers a ready-made replacement for his Tottenham predecessor.

Solanke hailed Kane as “a once-in-a-lifetime striker” and “a great player to look up to”. That influence is evident in the younger man’s game, as he is increasingly willing to drop off and receive the ball between the lines more often than Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, the only other striker in this month’s England squad. Both of Tottenham’s goals in Sunday’s 3-2 defeat to Brighton were funnelled through the ever-evolving Solanke.

“I have done a lot of learning, a lot of developing,” Solanke insisted. “I am a lot more mature now and naturally I am going to be in a better position.”

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