Robbie Keane felt Tottenham star cost £35m too much but admits he's proving him wrong already

For Tottenham Hotspur legend Robbie Keane, one of the Premier League outfit’s new faces has everything required to be a massive success under Ange Postecoglou.

Especially if continues to develop like he has over the last few weeks.

Keane, one of the most popular footballers in Spurs’ modern history, admits that he had some doubts initially. When watching Dominic Solanke at AFC Bournemouth, Keane would often see Tottenham’s number 19 drop deep and drift wide.

And while Harry Kane excelled in such a roving role in North London, Keane feels that Postecoglou’s array of talented wingers and attacking midfielders means Solanke is better suited simplifying his game and staying within the width of the goal posts.

It is a ‘concern’ Solanke, with every game that goes by, is now dispelling.

With three goals in three successive games, Spurs’ £65 million record signing was on hand to tap home against both Brentford and Qarabag after a couple of goalkeeping spills; Tottenham icon Glen Hoddle insists this is only the start for Solanke after that Europa League cruise last week.

He was in the right place at the right time to put the cherry on top of that 3-0 hammering of Manchester United too.

And Keane is delighted to see Solanke thrive where Tottenham need him the most.

Dominic Solanke is dispelling Robbie Keane’s doubts at Tottenham

“Physically, he’s got everything. He is quick, he is good in the air,” Keane says on the Its Called Soccer! podcast.

“The fee was massive. Too much. [Solanke should have cost] £30 million, maybe. But, this day and age, who do you get [in terms of] a proven goalscorer in the Premier League? I thought it was a good signing.

“When I watched him at Bournemouth, he always drifted to the left a lot, almost like Richarlison does. And that was my only concern. When you’re at Tottenham, you’ve got the [James] Maddisons, you’ve got [Heung-Min] Son, players who can create for you so you don’t need to be in wide areas.

“If he is going to be a success at Tottenham, you have to stay in the 18 yard box, between the posts. And you see his goals; tap-ins. He will score good goals outside the box [with] individual skill, no problem.

“But stay in the box. And he is doing that.”

Solanke brings far more than goals to Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs

Ex-Spurs hitman Darren Bent thinks Solanke should aim for a minimum of 15 this season. But, of course, any striker in a Postecoglou team must offer more than a nose for goal.

Solanke’s is not only a ferocious presser but someone who understands the timing and the triggers better than most in the division. The former Chelsea and Liverpool youngster topped the Premier League charts in 2023/24 for pressures in the final third.

No one forced more turnovers in that area of the pitch than Solanke either.

And Republic of Ireland legend Keane, who scored 122 goals over two spells at Tottenham Hotspur, feels that Solanke’s tailor-made suitability for Postecoglou’s high-pressing tactics makes the deal which took him to North London more inspired.

“The difference between Manchester United and the Tottenham front three, in terms of pressing, the trigger point was Solanke,” Keane adds. “Every time he went, you will see [Timo] Werner go, Maddison jump, and [Brennan] Johnson go.

“I think they know he can score goals because he did that last year. He scored 19 in the league for a team not as good as Tottenham and who won’t create as many chances as Tottenham.

“He can probably score more goals, and I think he should because of how he plays. But I think the reason why Ange bought him is because of what he brings in terms of pressing. I think that was a big attraction to Ange.

“And then you are going to bring goals.”

Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski also found the net at Old Trafford, while Manchester United legend Gary Neville likened Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven to Gareth Bale after a barnstorming run which tore Erik ten Hag’s team to shreds in the build up to that third minute opener.