“I can say something here I’ve never said before in interviews.” Thank you, Manor Solomon, and thank you, Dana Voshina. Leeds United’s loan star serves up every interviewer’s dream sentence at the midway point of our sit-down.
Dana, Solomon’s fiancée, might also be getting thanks from the wider Leeds fanbase by the end of May. At this current trajectory, the Tottenham Hotspur loanee might be toying with the Championship by the time the run-in revs up.
Four months have passed since Solomon joined Leeds on loan. His rebuild, from virtually a year lost to injury, through the fire of the Championship and intense competition for places, has taken time, but things are coming together.
Four starts in the last five over the busy festive period, with Wilfried Gnonto and Largie Ramazani breathing down his neck, underlines Daniel Farke’s growing faith in the 25-year-old. Four goal contributions in his last four starts have not hurt either. He would not be at Elland Road, having this impact, if it were not for his partner.
“She’s been amazing,” he tells The Athletic. “She’s my fiancée. We’re getting married in the summer. We’ve been together for six and a half years, so it’s quite a long journey. She’s been with me in Ukraine, in London, in Fulham, in Tottenham, and especially here.
“I can say something here I’ve never said before in interviews: she pushed me to come to Leeds. In the beginning, when I heard Leeds, I knew it was a big club but I said: ‘OK, it’s second division, Championship; I don’t know. After a long injury, to go to the Championship, it can be risky; it can be hard because everyone knows the Championship is a really tough league’.
Solomon celebrating a recent goal with Piroe (George Wood/Getty Images)
“She pushed me because our goal is to stay in England, to get back to the Premier League.
“She said: ‘OK, it’s not London. We will not be with our friends but I’m sure Leeds is a good place’. After I signed, I told her: ‘Thank you’.
“Our goal was to stay in England, after the loan, next year, and to be in the Premier League. Everyone knows, in the Premier League, the teams, they all look at the Championship, especially at one of the best teams or the biggest club in the Championship, like Leeds.
“We could go somewhere else, where it would be easier for us, for her to live because, in London, we had so many friends. She told me, ‘Don’t worry about me. I will be OK. This is the next step. This is the challenge we need and we need to go for it’.”
She has been Solomon’s rock and constant through two and a half tumultuous years. There have been four different clubs, two loan spells, long-term injuries, and two major conflicts to contend with.
In February 2022, Solomon had to drop everything when he woke up to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Then at Shakhtar Donetsk, he fled at short notice and eventually made it to safety after a 17-hour car journey to the Polish border before a 10-hour wait to even cross into safety.
More recently, the Israeli has inevitably been affected by the war in his homeland and Gaza. In October 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing roughly 1,200 people and capturing 250 hostages, according to figures reported by The New York Times. Officials say roughly 100 of those hostages taken on October 7 are still being held in Gaza, The New York Times reported.
More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to the health ministry in Gaza, as reported by The New York Times, following Israel’s response to that October 2023 invasion. It is an episode that has weighed heavily on Solomon.
“The last 15 months, 16 months, has been really difficult for me, for my country, for our people,” he says. “I know a lot of people, a lot of friends, that got terror, that got killed even, so it’s not an easy situation.
“My brother was in the army, so it was a bit terrifying. You have to cope with it and we pray for better days.”
Leeds condemned a new chant about Solomon during the festive period, as reported by The Telegraph. The song contains anti-Palestinian lyrics and generated a lot of headlines around the turn of the year. The winger did not want to address that directly but did have a wider message for supporters.
“I prefer not to comment about it,” he says. “I just want to say I’m grateful for the support of the fans, for everyone and it doesn’t matter where they’re from and what they believe and what they support.
Solomon has been in excellent form in recent weeks (Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)
“I’m just grateful for them and I’m happy with them and to see them in Elland Road, in the away games when it’s a five-hour drive and you see them, they’re all chanting for everything.
“It’s really amazing and I can say it’s maybe one of the best fanbases I’ve ever experienced.”
Solomon is proud of his religion and his heritage. He is happy to represent his faith — especially when there are not many Jewish footballers. That was at the heart of an appearance at a Hannukah event at Elland Road recently.
“Some people from the community approached me and asked me to come,” he says. “I was really happy to. It’s a great thing to see the Jewish community, where most of the people support Leeds.
“It was lovely to see it. When I came, when you see all the kids with the Solomon shirts, it’s really a privilege for me and I’m happy I make them happy. They made me happy as well, that I could celebrate with them Hanukkah because we don’t have our family here.
“When you see all the Jewish people in the Jewish community, it makes your heart really warm.”
GO DEEPER
Leeds United or Jewish? The religions coexist, side by side
Meniscus — a piece of cartilage in the knee that works as a shock absorber — injuries dogged Solomon at Tottenham and Fulham. His first, with the latter, came in August 2022. He would return in January 2023 and score in five consecutive games from February. He bounced back quickly, but it was different at Spurs — who he joined permanently in the summer of 2023.
Solomon needed further meniscus surgery in October 2023. He did not play competitively after. There were two or three operations over the course of last season. The pain was chronic and he wondered if he would ever play again.
A visit to a pain clinic, where Solomon was given tablets and gelts to ease his chronic pain, solved the issue. Despite footballers getting the best treament in the world, according to Solomon, this is rare for people in his sport. While the surgeries had done the repairs, Solomon needed painkillers to get him over the line and ease him back to his best. They did the trick.
“The first thing is physically, but the second thing is mentally,” he says. “After such a long time, when you come back, you don’t feel like yourself, you’re not confident and you’re afraid. You’re afraid to get injured again. After you’ve played for a few months, that’s it. Everything eases off and then you feel much better.”
Solomon has not been without his issues since arriving in West Yorkshire. Two promising starts against Hull City and Burnley, which included that unfortunate slip, were followed by issues with his back and hamstring. It set him back. It meant he had too much time to stew on the mistake at Burnley, something he would have been very angry at himself for if he had been younger.
That fire has been present in many of Solomon’s performances. Most recently, there was very public unhappiness with his substitution during the Blackburn Rovers draw. Eyes were rolled, arms were held out and gloves were launched. If he had a dummy, Solomon would have spat it out.
“First of all, I’m Israeli, I’m from the Middle East, so really emotional,” he says. “As long as I’m on the pitch and as long as I’m in Leeds, I want to give my best and I want to be on the pitch to help the team.
Solomon struggled with injury while with parent club Spurs (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
“In the Blackburn game, I was dangerous, I was helping the team and I want to get the goal or to assist. I really wanted to win this game and to take three points in a really difficult game.
“When I was subbed off, I was pretty frustrated because I want to be there on the pitch to help my team and to help the players, but this is the manager’s decision and you have to respect it. That’s OK.”
Farke repeatedly says his door is open to his players if they feel they need an explanation about something. Was Solomon rattling on the timber last Thursday morning, though?
“At this point, I didn’t speak to the manager, but at some point, you can speak with the manager,” he says. “Our manager is really open. His door is always open and I’ve had some really good conversations with him, in good periods, and in bad periods.
“After my hamstring injury, when I didn’t come back in the way I played before or I could play, he really helped me and really pushed me forward to get back to my shape. I don’t take it for granted. I really appreciate it and I’m happy it paid off.”
Ange Postecoglou is watching Solomon’s progress in West Yorkshire. His contract in the capital does not expire until June 2028. All parties could see Solomon was not himself in the summer and with little prospect of playing in the Premier League, a loan in England appealed to everyone.
It is impossible to predict where Solomon may play next season, but he is very happy with what he has seen during his latest loan spell.
“I love it here,” he says. “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.”
(Top photo: Beren Cross/The Athletic)
