Five years on from Tanguy Ndombele's failed club-record Tottenham Hotspur transfer, a Basingstoke-born striker is set to overtake the Frenchman as the Lilywhites' most expensive signing of all time.
Indeed, Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke is believed to be on the verge of joining Ange Postecoglou's side in a £65m deal, including a £55m upfront fee and a further £10m in performance-related add-ons.
The former Chelsea and Liverpool striker is expected to complete his medical imminently before putting pen to paper on a six-year contract in North London, where he will attempt to fill the boots of all-time leading scorer Harry Kane.
Solanke departs the Cherries on the back of netting 19 goals in 38 Premier League matches during the 2023-24 campaign - a tally bettered by just three players - and will become Spurs' third signing of the summer after Archie Gray and Yang Min-hyeok.
Ahead of Solanke's North London arrival, Sports Mole looks at which shirt numbers the 26-year-old could be available to the striker at Tottenham.
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While he started out as Bournemouth's number 29 following his mid-season arrival from Liverpool in 2019 - a number currently taken by Pape Sarr at Tottenham - Solanke has been the Cherries' number nine in every full season he has spent at the Vitality Stadium.
That jersey is unsurprisingly in the possession of Richarlison at Tottenham Hotspur, but Solanke's arrival could very well push the Brazilian out of the door; clubs in Saudi Arabia are believed to be pushing to sign the ex-Everton man.
Should Richarlison indeed depart and vacate the number nine, Solanke should have a clear run at that revered striker's jersey, which has been sported by attackers at both ends of Spurs' success scale such as Jimmy Greaves, Les Ferdinand, Roberto Soldado and Vincent Janssen.
Interestingly, all-time leading scorer Kane was never in possession of the '9' during his illustrious Tottenham career; the England skipper spent most of his time in North London as Spurs' 10, which was inherited by creator-in-chief James Maddison last summer.
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As a result, Solanke is unlikely to don the '10' that he previously wore at youth level for both club and country, but an intriguing option could free up if Giovani Lo Celso leaves amid interest from Aston Villa.
Indeed, the Argentine is currently sporting the number 18 shirt for Tottenham, which Solanke wore briefly for Chelsea's Under-19s, and star attackers such as Kane, Jermain Defoe and Jurgen Klinsmann have also donned Spurs' '18' down the years.
In terms of currently available jerseys, the '11' has been freed up by Bryan Gil's move to Girona, while the 19, 25 and 28 shirts are also awaiting their next takers; the '26' has been unofficially retired in honour of Ledley King.
A surprise exit for Son Heung-min either this summer or the next - when his contract is due to expire - would also leave the '7' available, but all of the signs surely point towards Solanke lining up as Tottenham's newest number nine in 2024-25.
Ben Knapton
