Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have put an emphasis on bringing in young talent to Anfield and in recent times the club have secured a deal to sign Chelsea striker Dominic Solanke.
Solanke is considered one of English football’s brightest young talents, but what can he offer Liverpool?
Learn more about the 19-year-old with our fact-file.
The Basics
Born in Basingstoke on the 14th of September, 1997, Solanke has spent his entire footballing career at Chelsea, although he has been out on loan (more on that later).
Youth Career
Solanke doesn’t have much to brag about in terms of at professional level, but the buzz around him comes from his impressive record at youth level.
During the 2013/14 season, Solanke netted 20 goals in 25 games for the Chelsea U18s and went on to bag a brace in the FA Youth Cup final later that season.
He also scored 11 goals in 14 games for the England U17 side during the same season.
First-team
Jose Mourinho promoted Solanke to the Chelsea first-team squad for the 2014/15 season, stating that if he didn’t become an England international, he shall blame himself for failing him.
“My conscience tells me that if, for example, [Lewis] Baker, [Izzy] Brown, and [Dominic] Solanke are not national team players in a few years, I should blame myself.”
Solanke made his Chelsea debut in the Champions League as a second half substitute against Maribor, the first of what he hoped to be many that season but despite spending the whole campaign around the first-team squad, he made just one appearance as Chelsea lifted the Premier League title.
2015/16 loan to Vitesse
In a bid to play some regular games, Solanke was loaned to Chelsea’s Dutch affiliate club Vitesse Arnhem for the 2015/16 season.
After a strong start to the season, scoring four goals in his first nine appearances for the club, Solanke went off the boil and an Achilles issue in the second half of the season limited him to just six appearances between February and the end of the season.
Solanke finished the season with a respectable seven goals in 25 Eredivisie games before returning to Chelsea last summer.
The stand-off
At the start of the season, Solanke requested to leave Chelsea on loan, this time to an English club, so he can play some regular football.
The Blues turned down his request unless he would sign a new contract. This is a common move by Chelsea, something they did with Victor Moses before his loan spell with West Ham and Nathan Ake prior to joining Bournemouth – both of whom are now in the first-team squad at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea reportedly balked at Solanke’s £50k-a-week wage demands and refused to let him go on loan, leaving him as the club’s third choice striker behind Diego Costa and Michy Batshuayi.
Style of Play
Solanke primarily plays as a centre forward but he can also operate as an attacking midfielder and as a winger.
In an interview with Sky in 2015, former Chelsea striker Tore Andre Flo said of Solanke:
“He’s quick but often what impresses me the most is when he looks like he’s lost the ball, he somehow manages to get out with the ball, no matter how tight the situation is or how difficult it looks.”
You can see how this would fit with Jurgen Klopp’s style of play.
