Dropped by Chelsea & Liverpool by age 22 but now set to join Spurs – The journey of Solanke

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Reported €76m deal 

At 22 years of age, Dominic Solanke looked to have blown his chances at another big club. Liverpool cashed in and sold the young English striker to Bournemouth for €21.2m in 2019. This came after he made the move to Anfield from Chelsea aged 19 on a free transfer. It looked as though his career, after being tipped as one of the most exciting young talents from these shores, was only heading on a downward spiral. 

Nevertheless, Solanke got his head down and stuck at it, and is now reaping the rewards. Only Erling Haaland (27), Cole Palmer (22) and Alexander Isak (21) scored more Premier League goals last season than the Cherries’ striker’s 19. Now, Solanke is getting linked with the top English clubs again. Arsenal and Newcastle both reportedly showed interest back in January, but it’s now Tottenham that seems likely to be his destination this summer. According to The Athletic, Bournemouth have agreed to sell Solanke for a club-record fee and talks with Tottenham are continuing to finalise the deal, with personal terms in place and the 26-year-old striker reportedly desperate to complete move to the North London side.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou was asked about the prospect of signing Solanke this Friday and said: “Yes, I don’t think we have been looking to replace Harry [Kane]. You can’t really replace a generational player. It’s fair to say that’s an area of the park, the front third, that we are looking to reinforce. We are trying hard to get the right kind of players into that area.” Solanke currently boasts a market value of €40m, the latest reports suggest Spurs have agreed a fee of €76m with Bournemouth, which will become their club record deal, as well as Bournemouth’s record sale. It’s been a long and winding road but Solanke has been playing the long game to get to the top.

Solanke’s unusual journey to the top

Solanke came through the ranks at Chelsea. A club that has become synonymous with one of the best academies in world football in the past two decades, but also carries the tag of giving very few opportunities to their talented youngsters in the first-team. Further hindered by the Blues tendency to spend heavily on the biggest stars. That was the case for Solanke, who made just one appearance for Chelsea in the Champions League aged 17.

Competing with big names such as Diego Costa, Álvaro Morata, Radamel Falcao and Michy Batshuayi for game-time up front blocked his path. After a fairly successful loan spell in the Eredivisie, where the Englishmen scored seven in 25 games for Vitesse Arnhem, Solanke sought opportunities elsewhere. He signed for Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool for €2m in the summer of 2017. At the time of that move, Solanke had a market value of just €3m.

“The situation here is a bit difficult, you all see it. But if Dom continues like he did so far then everything will be fine, 100%. There’s nothing to say about the short or long-term things. He’s our player and if I have to decide that, he will stay that as well. We will see what happens. But we want to help Dom so he can help us. That’s the target.” Klopp said about Solanke in November 2018 just over a year after signing him. At that point, he had made 21 Premier League appearances for the Reds, including five starts and one goal. Solanke was at another top club, but it again felt too much too soon on his development path, and two months after those words from the German, Solanke was sold to Bournemouth in the January window for €21.2m, having not played in the league at all for Liverpool that term.

For a while, it looked like Liverpool and Chelsea’s decision to let him go was going to be justified. The English striker took time to blossom on the South-coast. In his first six months at Bournemouth he didn’t score a single goal in 10 Premier League appearances, and struck just three times the following season in 32 league matches. It was in the Championship that Solanke began showing signs of being a top goalscorer. In two seasons the forward scored 44 goals in 86 games, including 29 in 46 in the 2021/22 season. No player scored more goals in that division across those two campaigns. It was impressive, but could he step up in the Premier League? 

In the 2023/24 season, Bournemouth fought off relegation with Solanke scoring six and assisting seven. Whilst the numbers weren’t remarkable, they showed he was capable of delivering some output at the top level, and for a club who weren’t creating an awful lot of chances. Although it was last term, under the astute management of Andoni Iraola, that Solanke caught the attention of the top clubs once again. He was a goal machine. As aforementioned, his 19 goals was only be bettered by Haaland, Palmer and Isak. Solanke had a prolific campaign and delivered on the biggest occasions, scoring against Manchester United in both games, Newcastle and Aston Villa. So many top clubs are hunting for a top goalscorer who can lead them to glory this summer, and their pursuit may lead to 26-year-old Solanke, now valued at €40m. At Tottenham it could be third time lucky at a ‘Big six’ club for the Englishmen.

How would Solanke fit in at Spurs?

The seemingly imminent arrival of Solanke certainly casts doubts over the role of Richarlison going forward. The Brazilian recently told ESPN that he wants to stay in the Premier League with Spurs amid links with teams in the Saudi Pro League, but having primarily played up front when fit last season, game-time may be limited upon Solanke’s arrival. Heung-Min Son spent much of last season deputising as a makeshift centre-froward, but one would expect the South Korean to return to his more familiar left-wing role, with Solanke through the middle. With the options out wide of Son, Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski, Solanke could be the perfect striker to get on the end of their crosses and hold up play to get the wingers in behind.

With the fee expected to exceed €76m, it would make Solanke Bournemouth’s record sale, and Spurs’ record signing eclipsing the €62m Tottenham paid for Tanguy Ndombélé in 2019. Such an investment would suggest the club expect Solanke to come in and be the main man at No 9, as Spurs look to work their way back into the Champions League places, having missed out again last term. For Solanke, it’s been an unorthodox path, but as a more mature player and man, he will be hoping to show his worth in North London.