Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Tottenham Hotspur were interested in signing Ivan Toney this summer before they opted to secure Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth in a club-record £65 million deal. Speaking ahead of Tottenham’s Premier League clash with Brentford, Postecoglou acknowledged that Spurs were among several clubs tracking Toney, who ultimately moved to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia for £40 million on transfer deadline day.

“We looked at him, but the reality was that Dom [Solanke] is the one that I wanted,” Postecoglou said. “It took the whole summer to get him in, but he was the one that fitted the profile that we wanted.”

Toney had been linked with moves to Chelsea and Arsenal as well, but Tottenham’s focus shifted to Solanke, who was coming off the best season of his career, having scored 19 Premier League goals for Bournemouth in the previous campaign. Despite suffering an ankle injury on his Spurs debut against Leicester, Solanke has since returned to start in both the north London derby against Arsenal and the Carabao Cup tie against Coventry.

“He’s settled in really well,” Postecoglou said of Solanke. “There’s plenty more to come from him, because he got injured. He’s only played two-and-a-bit games for us. He just needs to get some games under his belt. But what I’ve seen in the games he has played, he’s going to be a real asset for us. I’ve got no doubt he’ll be a great contributor.”

With Solanke now back to full fitness, Spurs will be hoping that the striker can quickly build on his early performances and become a key figure in their attack for the rest of the season.