Why Did Liverpool Sell Dominic Solanke?
On the first of July 2017, Dominic Solanke completed his move from Chelsea to Liverpool. Although he was out of contract at the time, meaning that he didn’t cost anything, the Reds still had to pay compensation to the London club for the then 19-year-old.
He wasn’t the first player that the club had snatched from another as a youngster, with Liverpool having made something of a habit of collecting the best young players from elsewhere and adding them to the Academy. It looked as though he had the world at his feet, but left Anfield after just a year and a half without having made much of an impression. Why did the Reds let him go?
How Solanke Ended up at Liverpool
In order to get a sense of why it was that Liverpool decided to allow Dominic Solanke to leave for Bournemouth, it is worth considering how he ended up at Anfield in the first place. Dominic Ayodele Solanke-Mitchell was born on the 14th of September 1997 in Reading, Berkshire. He joined Chelsea as a youth prospect in 2004 and remained at the club’s Academy for more than a decade, scoring 20 goals in 25 games for the under-18s, including a brace in the FA Youth Cup final against West London rivals Fulham.
Such was the extent to which he impressed, Chelsea manager José Mourinho said he’d be to blame if Solanke didn’t play for England.
Remember Solanke in those Chelsea youth teams? Real killer, glad to see it finally translating into the men’s game
— Akin (@MrTund) April 13, 2024
He signed his first professional contract in the September of 2014, being named on the bench the following month and making his debut as a substitute for Oscar in the Champions League on the 21st of the month, becoming the youngest ever Chelsea player to play in the competition. He was also making waves in the UEFA Youth League, ending up as top scorer and scoring in the final as the Blues won 3-2.
He also got a late goal as Chelsea defeated Manchester City in the FA Youth Cup, being named Chelsea’s Academy Player of the Year in the award’s inaugural year. Chelsea wanted him to gain some first-team experience, so he joined Vitesse on loan.
@podclipzhd This team is RIDICULOUS #chelsea #dominicsolanke #chelseaacademy #ethannwaneri #tammyabraham #premierleague #fyp #foryou #football #viral #sharky #sds
He ended up getting seven goals in 25 appearances in the Netherlands, rejecting further loan offers in order to stay at Stamford Bridge as the club’s third-choice striker. He got his first involvement in a game when he was on the bench for the club’s League Cup tie against Bristol Rovers, but in the February of 2017 it was confirmed by Antonio Conte, the manager at the time, that he would leave the club in the summer after his contract had expired.
That drew the interest of several clubs, with Liverpool winning the race to secure his signature. He agreed to join the Reds on the 30th of May 2017, joining on the first of July when his contract ran out.
How he Performed at Liverpool
Officially named a Liverpool player on the tenth of July 2017, the Reds had to pay a fee in the region of £3 million to Chelsea after the amount was set by a tribunal. Just as he had done for Chelsea, he made his debut for Liverpool in the Champions League, coming on for Roberto Firmino on the 16th of August in a 2-1 win over Hoffenheim.
He didn’t get a start until the 30th of November, appearing against Stoke City in a game that the Reds won 3-0 but in which he didn’t score. In fact, his only goal for the club came on the 13th of May 2018, which was the final day of the 2017-2018 season, scoring in a 4-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
In spite of the undoubted promise that he showed, it was felt by Jürgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager at the time, that both Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi, both of whom had returned from loan spells, were a better fit for what the German was trying to do. The consequence of this was that he only made one match day squad in the first half of the season, being an unused substitute as the Reds took on his former club Chelsea in the League Cup.
Klopp, of course, always tried to be as fair as possible to his players and made the decision to grant Solanke’s wish to leave the club, with numerous sides keen on signing him up.
Good but not Good Enough
In terms of why it was that Solanke was allowed to leave Liverpool, it ultimately boiled down to the fact that he was a decent young player but not quite good enough to cut the mustard at Anfield. It is worth remembering that Jürgen Klopp was in the process of building a team that he thought would be strong enough to take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in its pursuit for Premier League and Champions League glory.
It is no slight on Solanke to suggest that he wasn’t at the calibre of the likes of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino or Sadio Mané, who became Liverpool’s first-choice front three during that period.
Comedy moment from Spurs as they create a great goalscoring opportunity but Solanke and Bentancur run into each other as they both try to shoot Sums up the season
— Jay Harris (@jaydmharris.bsky.social) 2024-12-29T15:30:48.431Z
It is also worth flagging up that Liverpool received a fee of around £19 million for him from Bournemouth when he left, which was money that was put towards further strengthening the first team. He scored just three goals in 42 Premier League appearances for the Cherries, becoming much more proficient when they were relegated to the Championship, which practically confirmed the Reds were right to let him go.
Although he then hit something of a hot-streak in the 2023-2024 campaign, scoring 19 goals in 38 top-flight games, there hasn’t been much to suggest that Liverpool should’ve kept hold of Solanke for longer.
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