Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Manor Solomon’s ever-growing influence at Leeds United is that the Championship leaders have yet still only scratched the surface of his true potential.
This is, after all, a footballer with Champions League goals against Real Madrid and Manchester City on his CV.
A player once linked with Napoli, who was compared to Eden Hazard, and turned down Aston Villa and West Ham in favour of joining Tottenham Hotspur after a loan spell at Fulham.
Kevin de Bruyne even sung Manor Solomon’s praises shortly after he put pen to paper with Leeds United. Daniel Farke, the Manchester City superstar claimed, had got his mitts on an ‘excellent’ player.
Yet, while Solomon has certainly made an impression in West Yorkshire, the feeling back home in Israel is that the former Shakhtar Donetsk wizard is yet to produce the sort of magic he became renowned for at the Ukrainian giants.
Though, after missing large portions of the last two seasons with injury, Solomon’s sparkle should return with greater confidence and more minutes under his belt. He’s scored only three times so far in 20 Leeds United matches.
That trademark Solomon ‘finisher move’ cutting in from the left and fizzing a shot into the far corner of the net, is not something the Leeds United locals have yet become accustomed to either.
Something to look forward to, then, as the business end approaches.
Leeds United told they’ve yet to see the best of Manor Solomon
“He is in great form,” Roy Weinberg writes in Sport5’s round-up about the progress of Israeli talent across European football.
“Solomon is not a player who picks up pockets for Leeds but a player who does it on the move, thus introducing another dimension to Daniel Farke’s team. The moment he does it more, it becomes harder for the defence to play in the low block.
“Moreover, once he picks up, it will be easier for Manor to ‘do a Solomon’ and go with his familiar move where he enters the box and shoots from distance. This is something we have hardly seen this season.”
The lazy comparison would be with Arjen Robben, of course. The most iconic cut-inside-and-shoot merchant arguably ever to play the game.
Solomon does his business on the opposite flank to the Bayern Munich legend, however, with Weinberg feeling that Liverpool dynamo Luis Diaz may be a more fitting likeliness.
“Once you go out to [press] Solomon, it may leave him half a step ahead of the defender [with] an opportunity to take advantage of his great explosive power,” Weinberg adds. “The same principle is also relevant in relation to Luis Diaz from Liverpool.”
“If he continues like this, I can definitely see a situation where Leeds buy him in the summer and the two play in the Premier League.”
Tottenham Hotspur loanee open to Elland Road stay
Speaking of a permanent transfer, the 25-year-old certainly isn’t ruling it out.
Speaking to The Athletic recently, Manor Solomon opened up on his love for Leeds United, with Tottenham’s stacked frontline likely to mean minimal opportunities for him back in North London.
“I love it here. I love the fans. I love the club. I love the players, the manager. Especially now, I’m really enjoying it and I love living here. Of course, it’s different to London, less things to do and we have less friends here. All the Israelis, they live in London, but we found our place here.
“You can’t predict what will happen in the future, whether I come back to Tottenham, whether I go to a different team, or whether I stay here in Leeds, you can’t predict it, but, of course, for me, the door is really open.”
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