It’s fair to say Tottenham Hotspur were spoiled by Harry Kane’s rise to stardom, the Englishman reaching a staggering level of consistency that any striker would likely find hard to replicate.
In his final season in north London, for instance, Kane scored 30 Premier League goals before departing for Germany. In each of the last two seasons, by contrast, no Spurs player has gone beyond 11 league goals.
Therein lies the difference, with the woes of Dominic Solanke having been central to this post-Kane struggle.
Will Solanke be sold in January?
The forward line has undergone a facelift of late, but scoring goals remains the key issue, with Solanke having scored just three times in the top-flight since the start of 2025/26, two of which came in the same game.
Injury has been the key factor, of course, but even in his debut campaign he still only netted nine times, a real drop-off from the 19 he’d plundered the year prior.
As Football FanCast exclusively reported, Roberto De Zerbi is currently looking to shift Mathys Tel and Richarlison in January in order to sign a new forward, the Brazilian having been omitted from the club’s Premier League squad.
Whether Solanke joins the pair through the exit door remains to be seen, although he was linked with a move to Nottingham Forest over the summer.
Perhaps it might be time to shift the £65m man, not least with the academy ranks potentially offering a more exciting solution.
Can Spurs replace Solanke with another Kane?
Strikers like Kane don’t come around often, not least in terms of those to come from the youth ranks, with it perhaps a little unrealistic to suggest another player like the England skipper will be emerging any time soon.
And yet, the Lilywhites have certainly produced a string of notable strikers in recent times, with Troy Parrott already making his mark at Real Betis, after ripping it up in Dutch football.
Young Englishman, Will Lankshear, has also flown the nest too to join Middlesbrough, the 21-year-old scoring eight in his first 11 games of 2026/27.
Loan moves have also been secured for both Dane Scarlett and Mason Melia, the latter man particularly highly rated, having moved to north London back in January.
Hopes remain high for Melia in particular, even if he has endured a slow start at Lincoln City, with the 19-year-old certainly one to keep an eye on moving forward.
In terms of who could directly threaten Solanke this season, perhaps it’s worth taking a punt on a player who is making waves in the academy right now.
The Spurs teenager who’s ripping it up in the academy
Let’s face it, the academy has almost become a little neglected in north London, with there having been some concern at the lack of a pathway to the first team.
There are those desperate to see 17-year-old midfielder, Luca Williams-Barnett, given a proper chance at senior level, the teenager featuring off the bench against Charlton Athletic.
Williams-Barnett is certainly generating a lot of buzz and focus right now, and rightly so having been name-checked by De Zerbi, yet one youngster who also deserves a nod is 17-year-old striker, Oliver Boast.
Unlike his academy colleague, Boast is yet to make a competitive first-team appearance for the Lilywhites, although he should hopefully be given a chance soon enough, having been in rampant form for the U18s.
Formerly on the books at Leeds United, the York-born striker scored ten times in 20 recorded games for the U18 side at Elland Road, while also making one appearance for the U21s.
He was subsequently snapped up by Spurs in the summer of 2025, following in the footsteps of Archie Gray who had made a more high-profile move between the clubs a year earlier.
More recently too, the young goal machine penned a first professional contract with the north London side back in June, just a month or so on from turning 17.
He’s a versatile forward, like most these days, who can operate on the right wing, yet his best work has seemingly come through the middle, hence why he could be a direct threat to Solanke before too long.
In 34 games for Tottenham’s U21 side so far, he’s scored 26 times and registered a further eight assists, boasting a ratio of one goal involvement per game.
|
U18 Premier League – 26/27 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player (Club) |
Games |
Goals |
|
Oliver Boast (Tottenham) |
6 |
12 |
|
Dexter Oliver (Manchester City) |
6 |
12 |
|
Warren Taylor (Burnley) |
6 |
7 |
|
Alfie Hutchison (Newcastle) |
5 |
6 |
|
Andrew Pennie (Chelsea) |
6 |
6 |
|
Kahlil Steele (Norwich City) |
6 |
6 |
|
Basima Balagizi (Nottingham Forest) |
5 |
6 |
|
Logan White (Leeds United) |
5 |
6 |
|
Wyatt Comley (Southampton) |
6 |
5 |
|
Bailey Pammenter (West Ham) |
6 |
5 |
That record has no doubt been aided by a remarkable start to the new season, in particular, Boast netting 12 in just six U18 Premier League games.
The England U17 international notably scored a brace in each of the first four games, while then making up for a one-game dry run by netting four against West Bromwich Albion in mid-September.
He’s been hailed as a “clinical finisher” by analyst and Como scout, Ben Mattinson, and it’s easy to see why, with a chance in the first-team surely set to arrive if he keeps up this momentum.
Solanke may well need to up his game, and quickly.
