Transfer Centre

Shirt numbers available to Manor Solomon at Tottenham Hotspur

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 11 July 2023

Sports Mole takes a look at which shirt numbers are available to Manor Solomon at Tottenham Hotspur following his arrival on a free transfer.

Signing number four is through the door at Tottenham Hotspur, who confirmed the arrival of Israel winger Manor Solomon on a free transfer on Tuesday afternoon.

The former Fulham loanee - who memorably scored five goals in five successive games for the Cottagers last term - has penned a five-year deal with the Lilywhites until the summer of 2028 following his exit from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Solomon was permitted to suspend his contract with Shakhtar following Russia's invasion, and the 23-year-old joins Dejan Kulusevski, Guglielmo Vicario and James Maddison in Ange Postecoglou's ranks for the 2023-24 season.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at which shirt numbers are available to Solomon at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Manor Solomon celebrates scoring for Fulham in February 2023 © Reuters

Upon his arrival at Craven Cottage last year, Solomon was bestowed with the number 11 shirt for Fulham - the same jersey he has often donned for Israel at senior and previously Under-21 level.

Bryan Gil was the last player to sport the '11' for Tottenham, but whether the Spanish attacker will still be a Spurs player by the end of the window remains to be seen, and the shirt once worn by Gareth Bale, Gary Lineker and Jimmy Greaves could therefore become available.

However, there is another small problem for Solomon to work around if he is to continue with the number 11, as fellow new signing Maddison is yet to be appointed his jersey since arriving from Leicester City.

There have been suggestions that Maddison may be in line for the '11' if Gil advances his career elsewhere, but the Englishman could instead opt for the number eight shirt, which is waiting for its next taker after Harry Winks's exit.

Fulham's Manor Solomon scores against Brighton & Hove Albion on February 18, 2023 © Reuters

As a result, Solomon may have a clear run at the '11' depending on Gil's future, but prior to moving to Fulham, he was in possession of the number 19 shirt during his four years at Shakhtar Donetsk, while he made his first-team breakthrough at Maccabi Petah Tikva with the same jersey too.

However, Ryan Sessegnon inherited that jersey for Tottenham after Moussa Dembele's departure, while the '10' that Solomon sports for Israel is in the firm grip of Harry Kane, whose hopes of a move away from Tottenham appear to be dwindling.

In terms of other available numbers, the '2' is vacant after Matt Doherty's exit, but it would be an odd choice for Solomon to take a shirt traditionally reserved for a right-back, especially with Tottenham tipped to bring in a new defender in the coming weeks.

Solomon could also get his hands on the '16' or '27', which were last worn by Arnaut Danjuma and Lucas Moura respectively, and the former shirt does have some sentimental value attached to it for the 23-year-old, who briefly donned the number 16 during his earliest days in the Israel senior team.