Bournemouth signed striker Dominic Solanke for £19 million plus add-ons on Friday. The deal has been criticised by some observers due to the amount of money spent on the striker. Solanke tallied just one goal in 18 months at Liverpool. After joining Liverpool on a free transfer in 2017, Solanke has now landed Liverpool a significant amount of cash. The person running Liverpool’s transfer business is certainly due for a raise after his work with Bournemouth.
Dominic Solanke – Is he worth it?
Solanke played in 21 games for Liverpool during the 2017-18 Premier League season. He tallied a goal and an assist for the Reds. However, this season, Solanke has not played one minute of Premier League football. Injuries and Liverpool’s summer signings have kept him out of Jurgen Klopp’s team. The striker has scored two goals in two Premier League 2 games.
Liverpool have received over £40 million from Bournemouth for Jordon Ibe, Brad Smith and Dominic Solanke. pic.twitter.com/auF9kItSTy
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) January 4, 2019
Bournemouth have bought the striker on potential, which is the same thing that inspired Liverpool to sign Solanke from Chelsea 18 months ago.
The cynic in me suspects that Liverpool signed Dominic Solanke for £4m with no real hope of him making it but because they knew his price tag could only ever go up. And you know what – they were absolutely right.
— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) January 4, 2019
In June 2018, Liverpool and Chelsea agreed on an undisclosed fee for Solanke. According to the BBC, Liverpool were willing to pay £3m while Chelsea wanted £10m for the player. The sale of Solanke came as a surprise. He had been linked with a loan move to several teams, but Bournemouth’s desire to shell out £19m changed Liverpool’s plan for the player.
Dominic Solanke – Is he the next Jordon Ibe?
Solanke isn’t the first player Liverpool player Bournemouth have paid over the odds for. In 2016, the club signed Jordon Ibe for £16.2m. Like Solanke, Ibe had scored just one Premier League goal before signing with Bournemouth.
https://twitter.com/ODDSbible/status/1081223118046285825
Since joining the Cherries, Ibe has played two and a half seasons, scoring two goals and assisting six. This year he has played nine times while contributing no goals or assists.
Dominic Solanke – Fantasy impact
Bournemouth is ready to sell Jermain Defoe which will open a place for Solanke in the team’s attack. Solanke will be played with Callum Wilson and Joshua King at Bournemouth. The trio could be an extremely exciting group of strikers. Wilson has tallied 105 FPL points while King has 69.
Dominic Solanke out for a month after Bournemouth transfer https://t.co/TFw07TqTSq #lfc pic.twitter.com/LJ4fBajHTc
— Indy Football (@IndyFootball) January 5, 2019
Solanke could prove to be an astute FPL signing for managers looking for a second half of the season surge.