There’s no surprise who’s leading the Premier League’s scoring chart so far this season. Nor is there any prize for guessing who’s in second.
Erling Haaland currently leads the way on 14, with Mohamed Salah not too far behind on 12. Level with the Egyptian though is a name that might surprise some Liverpool fans.
When Dominic Solanke signed for Bournemouth in January 2019, the disappointment at the then-21-year-old forward not having fulfilled his vast potential at Anfield was tempered significantly by having somehow earned $24m (£19m/€22m) from his sale. Solanke, now 26, was a key member of the England U20 side that won the World Cup in 2017, and when he signed from Chelsea, that was considered a major coup.
But the striker struggled for regular minutes under Jürgen Klopp, and when the chance came to move him on to Bournemouth for that significant sum of money, there was no real decision to be made over a striker with one goal in 27 appearances. Almost five years on, though, and Solanke’s true talents are starting to become clear. Sometimes, it takes a little longer for a player to settle in senior football, and that appears to be what has happened here.
With 12 Premier League goals to his name so far this season, including eight in his last seven games, Solanke has been a big factor in Bournemouth climbing its way into the top 10, leapfrogging the likes of Chelsea along the way. And even though his association with them is long over, Solanke could still prove very valuable to the Reds.
Solanke’s add-ons were activated shortly after his move away from Anfield, taking the total fee Bournemouth paid for him to $31m (£24m/€28m) — the same amount that Sheffield United, incidentally, splashed on Rhian Brewster. Liverpool though still stands to earn even more from Solanke’s sale.
The Reds also had a ‘sell-on profit’ clause inserted into the deal, which remains despite Solanke signing a new contract at Bournemouth earlier this season, according to the ECHO. It means Liverpool will receive 20 per cent of whatever the Cherries sell Solanke for over $31m.
That figure should be at the lower end of what Bournemouth would expect to fetch for the man once described as ‘brilliant’ by Klopp. Not only that, but the Cherries might be expecting offers to roll in soon, with the Daily Star reporting that Arsenal could push for Solanke as an alternative to Ivan Toney, while Chelsea and Tottenham are also linked.
Whether Liverpool benefits from the sell-on money or not, though, this is further vindication of its transfer strategy. Signed for a tribunal fee of ‘closer to £3m than the £10m that Chelsea wanted’, they have already made a tidy profit on a low-risk addition to their squad. Solanke’s form also shows that Liverpool were not wrong to make a move for the forward in terms of his quality — unlike with Bournemouth, they just could not afford to wait for him to come good.
