"We need a number 10" - Leeds United, Tottenham transfer deal deemed not the answer to Rutter sale | OneFootball

Manor Solomon is close to joining the Whites, but is not exactly what they need.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

The imminent arrival of Leeds United's new winger from Tottenham Hotspur is causing quite the stir in Yorkshire, however, there are questions surrounding the deal, and whether Manor Solomon is the right fit.

The 25-year-old is set to complete his medical this weekend, as per the Yorkshire Evening Post, signing from Spurs on loan, with the Whites paying a sizable proportion of his wages for the season.

Solomon played just five Premier League games in 2023/24, starting just twice before a knee injury saw him sidelined. Surgery on his meniscus saw his campaign end early, and he has not featured for the North London club since Tottenham's 2-1 home win over Liverpool last September.

Nevertheless, with Leeds' seemingly never-ending outgoings this summer, he is expected to make the switch to the Championship, a division in which he has never played in before.

Solomon originally moved to Spurs from Shakhtar Donetsk in July 2023, having spent the season prior on loan at Fulham, but his injury-hit 2023/24 has seen him drop down the pecking order at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, allowing the Whites to swoop in for a loan deal.

Replacing Georginio Rutter is the main aim

Although Leeds have lost several key players this summer, the sale of Geroginio Rutter to Brighton & Hove Albion may just hit hardest, with the forward who can also operate as an attacking midfielder moving on for £40 million.

There was a clear hole in Daniel Farke's team against West Bromwich Albion on matchday two, and the signing of Solomon does not seem to be the right fix.

FLW's Leeds Fan Pundit, Kris Smith, is worried that the club still have not replaced the Frenchman.

"I do think that we're now crying out for someone to replace Georginio Rutter, which is someone that has to play in the number 10," Kris told Football League World.

"And with that, I think that it has to be someone that is sort of a pass first, number 10, someone that can play the killer passes through the lines rather than someone who carries the ball over great distances like Rutter did."

Manor Soloman deemed to not be the right post-Rutter fit for Leeds United

Leeds have been active in trying to build a new-look team in the last week, and the addition of Largie Ramazani does seem to be a fantastic choice.

However, Solomon's profile is already very similar to that of the Whites' other attacking stars, such as Daniel James and Willy Gnonto.

With Farke still lacking that progressive attacking midfielder, who can connect the forward line to the midfield, there was probably better choices available on the market.

With that in mind, Kris believes that Leeds have made the wrong choice: "I don't think that Solomon's the right profile for us.

"Looking at everything that I've ever seen from Solomon playing, whether it's at Tottenham, Fulham or Shakhtar back in Ukraine, and especially what we saw first-hand when he scored a screamer against Leeds back in 2023, he loves to cut inside from the left wing and shoot from those sorts of places.

"It’s what Gnonto likes to do and probably what Ramazani likes to do, so it'd be sort of overkill for that left channel, and we do need someone that can play more naturally through the middle, which I don't really see from Solomon that much.

"And for that reason, I just think as much as the quality of him is undoubted and the fact that he would tear up the Championship as a left-winger, he's not the left-winger for us because we need a number 10, and I just don't see him being that sort of player for us."