Spurs Israeli player set for weekend derby

MANOR SOLOMON has had to pinch himself after escaping a war zone to start a new life in the English Premier League. The Israeli winger was a player at Shakhtar Donetsk and living in Kyiv on the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Now, life could hardly be more different after he signed for Tottenham Hotspur this season.“I woke up to the sound of explosions and sirens,” explains Manor. “It was like being in the middle of a movie. Everyone was panicking because the war had started and we didn’t know what to do. I knew I had to get away because it was going to get worse.”

Packing all of his belongings quickly, Manor eventually made it to the Polish border, then had to wait more than 10 hours in freezing temperatures before being ‘rescued’ and taken back home to Israel. “My heart goes out to the people who are still there,” he says. “Last year was the most difficult of my life.”

Manor, 24, who lists former Liverpool and Israel midfielder Yossi Benayoun as one of his inspirations, helped Fulham to a 10th-place finish last season, before being snapped up by Spurs on a free transfer this summer. With Tottenham talisman Harry Kane departing before a ball had been kicked, Manor knows he has a job on his hands to get his new club back into Europe, but you get the feeling he won’t mind that kind of pressure after what he has already experienced in his young life.

Fellow Israeli, Avram Grant, believes Manor is a ‘special player’ and has no doubts he will succeed at Spurs.Manor has done well to break into the first team so quickly, competing with the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-min, Richarlison, Ivan Perisic and Brennan Johnson for a place in boss Ange Postecoglou’s starting XI.
Manor started the last two matches, against Burnley and Sheffield United, and former Chelsea manager Grant said: “Manor is a special player; he was excellent at Fulham. I spoke with him, and he’s thrilled to be at Tottenham; he has improved his killer instinct.
“What sets him apart is his amazing one-on-one ability; he’s among the best. He is a Premier League player in every sense.” Fans will hope to see evidence of this  when Spurs play Arsenal this weekend.