Alan Hutton: Solanke and Onana to Thrive at Spurs and Villa
SOLANKE CAN BE A NATURAL REPLACEMENT FOR HARRY KANE
Dominic Solanke’s arrival at Spurs has the potential to be amazing. It’s a big boost for Tottenham fans after losing Harry Kane.
Solanke has shown during his time at Bournemouth that he can score all types of goals. No disrespect to Bournemouth, but he managed 19 goals last season and he’ll get even more opportunities created for him at Tottenham.
He had one or two good chances to open his account at Leicester but he snatched at them a little bit, which is natural. He’ll be desperate to get up and running for Spurs.
If you look at the way Tottenham plays under Ange Postecoglu, they love crossing from wide areas. They love their wingers getting to the byline and cutting the ball back. It will suit Solanke down to the ground.
Especially with James Maddison getting on the ball in and around the box and sliding passes in behind centre halves, I think Solanke is destined to thrive.
Solanke’s not just a goalscorer, he’s a great link-up player too. He’s happy coming short and laying it off before getting into the box. I think he adds plenty to this Spurs team.
SPURS ARE BUILDING TOWARDS THE FUTURE
The future looks bright for the Spurs, I do not doubt that.
Bringing in young players like Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall is key. They can shape the team moving forward. Both Gray and Bergvall will only improve in the years to come.
It’s just as important as bringing in players like Solanke who can help the team right away. It’s smart business.
ONANA HAS BIG BOOTS TO FILL – BUT I’M BACKING HIM TO DO IT
Amadou Onana scored a great goal on debut in the win over West Ham. He’s someone who has big boots to fill, that’s for sure.
Over the time he was at Villa, the now-departed Douglas Luiz was outstanding, but they are two different types of players.
My feeling is that Onana will roam about the pitch more, play aggressively, and look to win the ball back high up the pitch. He gets on the end of things in the opposition box. I think Onana’s style makes it more likely that Youri Tielemans will fill Luiz’s shoes. He can now be the link guy from defence to midfield, which is what Luiz was so good at.
Onana is a really good addition and he’ll only get better from playing with the quality Villa has week in, and week out. I think we’ll see a top-class player develop, especially playing under Unai Emery.
EXCITING TIMES AT VILLA PARK
This season will be fascinating for Villa fans. I think it would be outstanding if they could make a run in the Champions League and maintain their Premier League form of last season.
Sure, there’ll be added pressure. This will come from the fans, the media and even from within.
The fans demand high standards from their team. I think they’ll be targeting a top-four finish again and to get out of their Champions League group.
Unai Emery’s got an impressive record in Europe. However, it’s a different kettle of fish from rotating players for the Europa Conference League to playing your first team in the league and the Champions League.
It’s going to be difficult on the squad because he’s going to have to lean on core players to attack both fronts – but this is what professionals play for!
Emery does like to tinker with his full-backs and wingers, so I’d expect to see some variation there in the league or Champions League.
Villa have built a squad that’s got plenty of strength in depth, so I think Emery can afford to rotate a couple of players every game.
What constitutes success for Villa this season? That’s the million-dollar question.
If they secure another European spot in the league, have a good go in the Champions League and maybe add an FA Cup run, I think the fans will be happy.