Postecoglou confirms Spurs prioritised a move for Solanke over Brentford's most expensive departure

Speaking at Friday's pre-match press conference before his side's Premier League clash against Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed that England striker Ivan Toney was a player of interest during the summer transfer window.

On the final day of the summer window in the top five European leagues, Toney departed Brentford for Al-Ahli in exchange for €42 million, making him the most expensive player sold by the Bees.

 Al-Ahli turned their attention to signing Toney after a proposed move for Napoli forward Victor Osimhen fell through on deadline day.

The 28-year-old was linked with possible moves to Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur but Al-Ahli were prepared to pay over the odds for the forward who was in the final year of his contract at Brentford. 

It was an open secret that Ange Postecoglou was in the market for a marquee center forward in the summer  to fill the void created by the departure of Harry Kane, who switched to Bayern Munich in 2023.

After assessing their options, the Lilywhites prioritized the signing of Super Eagles-eligible striker Dominic Solanke over Toney.

"We did look at him but the reality is and I think I have said Dom was the one I wanted, and it took us pretty much the whole summer to get him in because he was the one that kind of fit the profile that we were looking at, at the time," Postecoglou told reporters. 

Solanke has yet to open his goalscoring account for Tottenham Hotspur after playing in three matches across all competitions.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: tottenhamhotspur.com

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