Pundit says the Tottenham shirt looks ‘too big’ for nervous player

Gabriel Agbonlahor believes the pressure of playing for Tottenham Hotspur is telling on Dominic Solanke, calling on the striker to remain calm and remember the things he was doing at Bournemouth last season.

Solanke has the pressure of a £65m price tag

Given the huge fee that Spurs have paid for Solanke, there was always going to be a lot of scrutiny on the centre-forward if he went a few games without scoring and that is exactly what is happening.

Tottenham’s record signing would have seen the Carabao Cup clash against Coventry City as the perfect opportunity to get off the mark but he was a passenger for much of the game, struggling to really get himself involved.

Agbonlahor says that the 26-year-old is not doing the things that made him successful at the Vitality Stadium last season.

Agbonlahor says the shirt looks too heavy

The pundit told talkSPORT: “You know with Solanke, Solanke has just got to like, have a chat with the manager and just calm down. He looks like he’s… the shirt’s too big for him at the moment.

“Just remember what you did last season for Bournemouth, you were outstanding, think about the things you were doing last season.

“Holding the ball up, making runs, being strong, being aggressive, getting in the box because, he doesn’t want to be that player that you go two or three games without scoring.

“When you’re at a new club, the pressure comes on. He got brought off last night again, perfect game at the weekend for him against Brentford at home to hopefully get off the mark.”

Agbonlahor suggested that the pressure will be off the England international’s shoulders as soon as he can get his first goal for his new club.

He continued: “The big advice I’d give him is that you’re a top player and there’s a reason why you were bought for big money. At Bournemouth, he was a menace, he was bullying defenders and putting his body in the way.

“Just don’t think to yourself that you are at a bigger club now at Spurs that the pressure is on. He just needs that first goal now. Ange needs to keep playing him.”

Tim Sherwood has advice for Solanke

This sentiment was echoed by Tim Sherwood, who pointed out that playing for Spurs involves a lot more pressure than playing for the Cherries, urging Postecoglou and the coaching staff at Tottenham to reassure the striker about his place in the side.

When asked what he would say to Solanke, the former interim Spurs boss responded: “Just keeping playing, you know? You’re going to play. I would say to him, ‘Who else is there at the moment to play ahead of him?’

“Paid big money for him, just give him a conversation and say look, ‘No matter what happens today, you’re in the team next week. I’m going to persevere with you, I want you to get strikes at goal, be yourself, be like you were when you played for Bournemouth.

“‘You’ve been at big clubs,’ he’s been at Chelsea, he’s been at Liverpool, he never got the opportunity. It’s easy to play for Bournemouth, with respect, you know, the teams that are around the mid-table in the Premier League.

“It’s a lot harder playing for big clubs but I believe he’s got the capability, certainly got the tools to be able to do it, he just needs a goal, get some confidence and he’s off and running.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Strikers need goals for confidence, and I am sure that Solanke will be able to express himself better and play with a lot more freedom once he scores a couple of goals.

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