Revealed: How Tottenham secured 'best possible option' with Dominic Solanke deal

Bournemouth have agreed to sell Dominic Solanke to Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record fee of an initial £55 million, The Transfers Podcast understands.

Solanke, 26, is keen to move and personal terms have been agreed, with the two Premier League clubs working on finalising the deal.

The forward had a £65m release clause in his contract enabling him to move to certain clubs.

"This is news that we broke on the podcast feed just before recording and promised more details here," Duncan Castles told The Transfers Podcast.

"Bournemouth have agreed to sell Dominic Solanke to Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record fee which I understand will be an initial £55 million. They are in the process of closing that deal, but the agreement on fee is in place."

As reported by The Transfers Podcast in June, Bournemouth realised this was an opportune moment to sell because it would be difficult to prevent him from moving to a club higher in football's pecking order if a substantial fee was agreed.

EXCLUSIVE: Tottenham agree deal to sign Bournemouth's Dominic Solanke

He's just delivered, by some margin, the best season of his career, scoring 19 goals in 38 Premier League games last season - an equal fourth highest scorer in the league.

Solanke will be the replacement for Harry Kane, with Spurs’ 12-month search for a new striker now at an end.

What has been said?

"It's an exceptional signing,” Sunday Times football correspondent Jonathan Northcroft told The Transfers Podcast.

“It strikes me as taking them back to their traditional best in transfer terms. If you think about the model that's worked for Daniel Levy, it's been getting younger players, often picking up British talents who have been stellar at the early part of their career, and then maybe have taken a dip, but have got that latent potential.

“It's been picking them up at good moments, getting them for decent fees, and it's been adding the polish to make them into top players.

“Postecoglou’s system demands a number nine, but a number nine that is really flexible.

So actually, they may have had to replace Harry Kane anyway. Not that Harry Kane's not flexible tactically, but he's not really flexible physically and might have really struggled with the pace that Ange plays his football at.

“You look at Solanke's game and he's been playing for one of the fastest teams in the Premier League in terms of moving the ball into attacking areas once they win it.

“That is something Iraola demanded at Bournemouth, which was that the first pass has to go forward and you have to go in on goal as soon as possible after winning the ball.

"That’s exactly what Ange Postecoglou wants to do as well. He's a scorer, he's a physical presence, but he's a very clever player tactically who can link with other players.

“It leaves a huge hole in Bournemouth, but I understand their reasons for selling him. In an era where number nines are hard to come by, Spurs have absolutely capitalised on an opportunity and got not just the best available option for them but an option that fits what their manager does and what their previous model has always been.”

Liverpool will benefit from this transfer after selling Solanke to Bournemouth back in 2019 for an initial £19m, understood to include £5m of bonuses which have already been achieved.

Also included in that transfer agreement was a 20 percent sell on clause; 20 percent of the profit that Bournemouth make on the deal, which should be equate to about £6m of the guaranteed fee.

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