Tottenham Hotspur have produced only a handful of truly encouraging displays across the 2025/26 Premier League and Champions League campaigns. However, even under Thomas Frank, Spurs often find that familiar rivals West Ham United offer the perfect opportunity for a morale boost.
The Hammers already played their part earlier in the season, first by allowing Mohammed Kudus to move to North London—before his injury setback—and then by suffering a comfortable 3-0 defeat in September. Now, after another poor spell that culminated in a 2-1 FA Cup loss to Aston Villa last weekend, this weekend’s second league meeting with West Ham takes on added significance.
Kudus remains unavailable, but new arrival Conor Gallagher could feature for Frank. More importantly, there is growing hope over the return of a key striker. With Richarlison ruled out for the first time this season, Dominic Solanke may finally be poised for a proper comeback.
The £65 million signing from summer 2024 didn’t quite justify his price tag in his debut campaign, yet he still played an important role, contributing key goals and performances during Spurs’ Europa League triumph. When fully fit, Solanke is widely regarded as Tottenham’s strongest central striker and, looking ahead to 2026, a more reliable option than Richarlison.
A lingering foot problem has kept him sidelined for much of the season, restricting him to just three substitute appearances and no starts. That began to change last weekend when he made a cameo against Aston Villa.
Ahead of Saturday’s clash with West Ham, Frank offered an encouraging update on Solanke’s fitness. Speaking to Football.London’s Alasdair Gold, he said:
“Destiny and Dom got a good week of training so are closer to playing more minutes.”
While Frank has offered similar optimism in the past, delivering this message so close to a crucial fixture adds weight to it. Randal Kolo Muani remains another attacking option and has shown flashes of quality—most notably against PSG—but has yet to truly cement his place.
Solanke’s strength, hold-up play, and overall presence would be a huge boost for midfielders Xavi Simons and Gallagher, as well as wide players Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert. Spurs may have largely written him off for this season, but if he can start against West Ham and steadily increase his workload, Tottenham could finally ease their long-standing striker concerns.
