As another season fast approaches, Chelsea look to start afresh with renewed hopes and ambitions of lifting a major trophy once again. Last season saw winger-cum-playmaker, Cole Palmer, finish as the club’s highest goal scorer with a total of 22 goals. The rest of the goal count is spread across the squad.
The Blues, however, expect the same performance from their other forwards. They have a fast front three but lack clinical finishing. Their hunt for a striker has led them to their former academy player, Dominic Solanke, who is reportedly available for £65m.
Solanke’s Career So Far
Solanke began his football journey at Chelsea academy. Soon after he signed his first professional contract with the club, he was sent to the Eredivisie to play for Vitesse on loan. After he returned from his loan spell, he only made just one senior appearance for the Blues. He never really got the opportunity to establish himself in the senior team and moved to Liverpool on a free transfer. A similar fate would follow him to the Merseyside where he had just 1 goal in 27 appearances. In January 2019, he sealed a move to Bournemouth where he went on to score 77 goals in 216 matches.
Solanke probably had the finest season in his career last year. The 26-year-old set a new club record after scoring 21 goals in all competitions. He surpassed the previous record of Josh King who scored 16 goals under Eddie Howe’s Cherries. Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer and Alexander Isak are the only players ahead of Solanke in the leaderboard.
With a 6’11/2 profile, he possesses both the physicality and skill to control the ball and win aerial duels. Even with this stature, his speed with the ball is excellent and can contribute heavily to forward plays. Quite often we can see him drop deep to facilitate link-up plays in the front instead of just waiting for his teammates to feed him with assists. He is a box-to-box striker since he also participates in the defence. His goal against Manchester United after leaving Willy Kambwala on the ground shows his swift footwork can help him create his own chances. Most importantly, his finishing has improved a lot.
Chelsea Not Signing Solanke
Chelsea are said to be in need of a striker who can cover a lot of ground. They intend to put more pressure for the no.9 spot with the purchase of another striker. Surprisingly, Solanke will probably not be a Chelsea player again next season, even though he has a matching profile.
According to various media outlets, the Blues deem the £65m price tag to be too steep. This is contradictory to what they have been doing for the past few seasons. The Todd Boehly era has seen a massive spending spree, sometimes paying above the market value of certain players. It is unlike Chelsea to abandon their pursuit solely because of exorbitant price. The possible underlying cause would likely be the club trying to play along with the Financial Fair Play standards.
The Premier League set an example of non-compliance of the FFP rules by deducting 10 points from Everton and 4 points from Nottingham Forest last season. Chelsea are currently trying to hold talks with Aston Villa forward, Jhon Dhuran and Atletico Madrid player, Samu Omorodion. On being asked about the transfer speculations, Dominic Solanke admitted that such discussions are normal after a strong season. He further added that he is happy at Bournemouth which may imply that he is set to play another season with the Cherries.
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