Dominic
Solanke has signed for Bournemouth in a £17m deal, less than 18 months after he
joined Liverpool from Chelsea. The 21-year-old had attracted interest from a
number of Premier League clubs this month, including Crystal Palace, who pulled
out of a loan move for the striker because of concerns about his fitness in the
short-term. Bournemouth, however, were open to signing Solanke on a permanent
basis and Liverpool accepted an offer that could rise with various add-ons.
Chelsea are
also expected to profit from the transfer. It is understood that they had a
sell-on clause inserted as part of the deal that was reached last year, after
the two clubs eventually came to an agreement without the need to go to a
tribunal.
Solanke
featured 27 times for Liverpool last season, but all but six of those
appearances were from the bench and he scored just once, against Brighton on
the final day. He has not played at all this season and has recently been recovering
from a minor injury.
A prolific
goalscorer at youth level, Solanke is highly regarded within the England set-up
and made his senior debut as a substitute against Brazil in November 2017. His
club career has never really taken off, but both Solanke and Bournemouth will
hope that all changes now that he has moved to the south coast.
“Dominic is
technically gifted, very athletic and has the physical profile that will give
us something different in our front line,” Eddie Howe, Bournemouth’s manager,
said. “He has done very well for England at various age groups, has a huge
amount of potential and I’m really excited about working with him.”
Solanke will
be joined at Bournemouth by Nathaniel Clyne, who has signed on loan from
Liverpool until the end of the season having fallen down the pecking order at
Anfield behind Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez. The England defender has
played just five times this season and managed only a similar number in the
previous campaign because of a back problem.
The impact
of 16-year-old Ki-Jana Hoever since his arrival from Ajax in September is
another factor in Clyne’s departure. The highly-rated Netherlands Under-17
international has impressed Jürgen Klopp since being promoted from the
Under-18s to the first-team squad to cover for recent injuries to Gomez and
Alexander-Arnold. Hoever is being considered for a place in the Liverpool squad
for Monday’s FA Cup third round tie at Wolves.
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