Dominic Solanke

Dominic Solanke
Solanke playing for Chelsea in 2014
Personal information
Full name Dominic Ayodele Solanke-Mitchell[1]
Date of birth (1997-09-14) 14 September 1997[2]
Place of birth Reading, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.87 m)[3]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 29
Youth career
2004–2014 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Chelsea 0 (0)
2015–2016 → Vitesse (loan) 25 (7)
2017– Liverpool 21 (1)
National team‡
2012–2013 England U16 6 (1)
2013–2014 England U17 14 (11)
2014–2015 England U18 7 (2)
2015–2016 England U19 10 (3)
2016–2017 England U20 15 (10)
2015– England U21 12 (4)
2017– England 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:32, 13 May 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:43, 11 October 2018 (UTC)

Dominic Ayodele Solanke-Mitchell (born 14 September 1997), known as Dominic Solanke, is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team.

Solanke started his career with Chelsea, making his first-team debut in October 2014. He spent the 2015–16 season on loan with Vitesse in the Eredivisie. He signed for Liverpool in July 2017.

Solanke has represented England at all youth, under-21 and senior levels. He has won the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup with his country and received the Golden Ball award for best player in the latter tournament.

Early life

Solanke was born in Reading, Berkshire to a Nigerian father and an English mother.[4] He attended Brighton Hill Community College in Basingstoke.[4]

Club career

Chelsea

Early career

Solanke started his career with Chelsea in 2004 in their under-eight team.[5] During the 2013–14 season, Solanke scored 20 goals in 25 appearances for the under-18 team.[6] On 6 May 2014, he scored two late goals as Chelsea came from two goals down to beat local rivals Fulham 7–6 on aggregate in the FA Youth Cup Final.[7] On 29 July 2014, José Mourinho stated a belief that he should blame himself were Solanke not to become a senior England international under his management, and indicated that the player would train with the first-team squad during the 2014–15 season.[8]

2014–15 season

Solanke signed his first professional contract with Chelsea in September 2014.[9] Due to the injury of Diego Costa, Solanke was named on the bench for a Premier League match against Crystal Palace on 18 October 2014.[10] Three days later, he made his first-team debut as a substitute for Oscar in the 73rd minute of a 6–0 win over NK Maribor in the UEFA Champions League.[11] This made him the youngest player to debut in the UEFA Champions League for Chelsea.

He finished as top scorer in the group stages of the UEFA Youth League after scoring a hat-trick in the final group stage match against Sporting CP.[12] On 10 April 2015, Solanke scored two goals in the semi-final of the 2014–15 UEFA Youth League against A.S. Roma to send Chelsea into the final.[13] He scored in the 3–2 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Youth League final,[14] ending the tournament with 12 goals in nine appearances as Chelsea won the title.[15] On 20 April 2015, Solanke scored a late goal to give team side a 3–1 win in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup final against Manchester City.[16] He played in the 2–1 win in the second leg, as Chelsea won the final 5–2 on aggregate.[17] On 7 May 2015, Solanke reached 41 goals for the season after scoring a hat-trick in a 4–3 victory over Liverpool U21.[18] He was awarded the inaugural Chelsea Academy Player of the Year award for the 2014–15 season.[19]

2015–16 season: Loan to Vitesse

On 4 August 2015, Solanke joined Eredivisie club Vitesse on a season-long loan to gain first-team experience.[20] After getting approval from FIFA to play in the Netherlands, he made his debut on 23 August 2015, coming off the bench in the 79th minute against Feyenoord, the match ending in a 2–0 defeat for Vitesse.[21] A week later, Solanke scored his first goal in a 4–1 victory over SC Cambuur after coming off the bench with 15 minutes to go.[22] He ended the season with seven goals in 25 appearances,[21] just three behind top scorer Valeri Qazaishvili and one behind runner-up Milot Rashica.[23]

2016–17 season

After rejecting many loan offers from several clubs, Solanke was retained as Chelsea's third-choice striker behind Diego Costa and Michy Batshuayi for the first half of the 2016–17 season. On 23 August 2016, he was involved in Chelsea's matchday squad for the first time since returning from his loan at Vitesse, for their EFL Cup home tie against Bristol Rovers.[21] He remained as an unused substitute in Chelsea's 3–2 victory.[24] In February 2017, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte confirmed that it was likely that Solanke would leave the club in the summer upon the expiry of his contract.[25]

Liverpool

On 30 May 2017, Solanke agreed to sign for Premier League club Liverpool on 1 July upon the expiration of his Chelsea contract.[26] He was officially confirmed as a Liverpool player on 10 July 2017,[27] with Liverpool expected to pay a tribunal-set fee of around £3 million.[28] He made his debut for the club on 16 August 2017, coming on as a substitute for Roberto Firmino in a 2–1 UEFA Champions League first-leg win over Hoffenheim.[29] His first Premier League start for Liverpool came on 30 November in a 3–0 win over Stoke at Bet365 Stadium.[30] He scored his first Liverpool goal on 13 May 2018, the final day of the 2017–18 season, in the 4–0 home victory against Brighton & Hove Albion.[31]

International career

Solanke has represented England at all youth levels.[32] In May 2014, Solanke was part of the under-17 team that won the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He was the tournament's joint top scorer with four goals in four appearances, a brace against Turkey, a goal in the semi-final secured a place in the final, and England's goal in the final.[33][34]

In January 2015, Solanke was named the England Men's Youth Player of the Year for 2014.[35] In March 2015, Solanke collected his trophy and was invited to train with the senior England squad.[36] He was named in the under-19 squad for the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.[37]

Solanke was named in the under-20 squad for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[38] He scored four goals in the tournament;[39] in the quarter-final, he scored the only goal against Mexico as England advanced into the semi-final,[40] and scored twice in the semi-final as England beat Italy 3–1 to reach the final.[41] Solanke started as England beat Venezuela 1–0 in the final.[42] Solanke was awarded the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament.[43]

Solanke was called up by the senior team for the first time in November 2017 for a friendly against Brazil at Wembley Stadium.[44] He came on as a 75th-minute substitute in a 0–0 draw.[45]

Style of play

Solanke primarily plays as a striker, although can also operate as either an attacking midfielder or a winger. Former Chelsea striker Tore André Flo has said that Solanke "works really hard", has "got very good physique" and "a great touch on the ball". He went on to say: "He's quick but often what impresses me the most is when he looks like he's lost the ball, he somehow manages to get out with the ball, no matter how tight the situation is or how difficult it looks".[46]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 13 May 2018
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] EFL Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Chelsea 2014–15[47] Premier League 0000001[lower-alpha 2]010
2016–17[48] Premier League 000000—00
Total 0000001010
Vitesse (loan) 2015–16[21] Eredivisie 25710——267
Liverpool 2017–18[49] Premier League 21110104[lower-alpha 2]0271
Career total 468201050548
  1. ↑ Appearances in KNVB Cup and FA Cup
  2. 1 2 Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 14 November 2017[50]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
England 201710
Total10

Honours

Chelsea Youth

Liverpool

England U17

England U20

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  2. ↑ "Dominic Solanke". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  3. ↑ "Dominic Solanke: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  4. 1 2 Jones, Neil (5 June 2017). "Liverpool target Dominic Solanke – Who is he and why do the Reds want him?". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  5. ↑ Canning, Tom (22 October 2014). "Dominic Solanke: Reading-born youngster makes Chelsea debut in Champions League". Get Reading. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  6. ↑ Ralph, Vincent (18 October 2014). "Five facts about Chelsea player Dominic Solanke". HITC. Entrepreneur. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  7. 1 2 Reid, Jamie (6 May 2014). "Chelsea seal Youth Cup glory after thriller at the Bridge". The Football Association. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  8. ↑ "Mourinho: Our bright blue future". Chelsea F.C. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  9. ↑ "Dominic Solanke". Chelsea F.C. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014.
  10. ↑ Rostance, Tom (18 October 2014). "Crystal Palace 1–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  11. ↑ Rose, Gary (21 October 2014). "Chelsea 6–0 Maribor". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  12. ↑ "Star of 2014: Dominic Solanke". UEFA. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  13. ↑ "Chelsea ease past Roma into Youth League final". UEFA. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  14. 1 2 "Brown inspires Chelsea to Youth League glory". UEFA. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Solanke crowned UEFA Youth League top scorer". UEFA. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  16. ↑ "Chelsea beat Manchester City 3–1 in FA Youth Cup first leg". Sky Sports. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  17. 1 2 Veevers, Nicholas (27 April 2015). "Chelsea retain the FA Youth Cup after 2–1 win over Man City". The Football Association. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  18. ↑ Walsh, Kristian (7 May 2015). "Chelsea Under-21s 4 Liverpool FC Under-21s 3: Reds spurn title opportunity in thriller". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  19. 1 2 "Hazard at the double". Chelsea F.C. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  20. ↑ "Solanke loaned to Vitesse". Chelsea F.C. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "D. Solanke". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  22. ↑ "Einde: Vitesse-SC Cambuur 4–1" [End: Vitesse-SC Cambuur 4–1]. Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch). Leeuwarden. 30 August 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  23. ↑ "Top scorers: Vitesse: 2015–16 (Eredivisie)". Sports Mole. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  24. ↑ "Chelsea 3–2 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  25. ↑ Sealey, Louis (17 February 2017). "Antonio Conte aims subtle dig at Chelsea youngster Dominic Solanke". Metro. London. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  26. ↑ Shaw, Chris (30 May 2017). "Reds agree terms to sign Dominic Solanke". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  27. ↑ "Dominic Solanke joins Liverpool". Liverpool F.C. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  28. ↑ McNulty, Phil (11 July 2017). "Dominic Solanke: Liverpool sign 19-year-old Chelsea striker". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  29. ↑ Fayiga, Kunle (16 August 2017). "Dominic Solanke Debut a sign of Positive Things". GOal. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  30. ↑ Wright, Nick (30 November 2017). "Dominic Solanke impresses on first Premier League start for Liverpool". Sky Sports. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  31. ↑ "Liverpool 4-0 Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. 13 May 2018.
  32. ↑ "Dominic Solanke". The Football Association. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  33. 1 2 "2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship – Technical report" (PDF). UEFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 September 2017.
  34. ↑ "Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Joshua Onomah helped England win Under-17 European Championship against the Netherlands tonight". Croydon Guardian. London. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  35. 1 2 "Solanke wins England award". Chelsea F.C. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  36. ↑ Peach, Simon (24 March 2015). "Chelsea teenager Dominic Solanke trains with senior England team after winning Youth Player of the Year award". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  37. ↑ Veevers, Nicholas (6 July 2016). "England under-19s squad named for Euro finals challenge". The Football Association. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  38. ↑ Veevers, Nicholas (8 May 2017). "World Cup squad selected". The Football Association. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  39. ↑ "Liverpool-bound Dominic Solanke wins Under-20 World Cup Golden Ball". ESPN FC. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  40. ↑ "Video: Liverpool signing Solanke sends England into U20 World Cup semi-finals". Goal.com. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  41. ↑ Hafez, Shamoon (8 June 2017). "Under-20 World Cup: Italy 1–3 England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  42. 1 2 "Under-20 World Cup: England beat Venezuela in final". BBC Sport. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  43. 1 2 Dutton, Tom (11 June 2017). "Former Chelsea striker Dominic Solanke named Player of the Tournament as England win U20 World Cup". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  44. ↑ "England v Brazil: Dominic Solanke, Lewis Cook and Angus Gunn called up for friendly". BBC Sport. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  45. ↑ McNulty, Phil (14 November 2017). "England 0–0 Brazil". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  46. ↑ Trehan, Dev (27 May 2015). "Dominic Solanke backed to succeed at Chelsea by Tore Andre Flo". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  47. ↑ "Games played by Dominic Solanke in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  48. ↑ "Games played by Dominic Solanke in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  49. ↑ "Games played by Dominic Solanke in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  50. ↑ "Solanke, Dominic". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  51. ↑ McNulty, Phil (26 May 2018). "Real Madrid 3–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
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