In a statement made last Tuesday, Liverpool announced that the 19-year-old striker Dominic Solanke will be joining the Reds from Chelsea. He will officially head up to Merseyside when his contract expires on July 1st.
Chelsea Career Never Taking Off
Although a rumour spread that the young star demanded £50,000 a week from the Blues, it was died down as the dots did not connect. Solanke, however, has struggled to find playing time in the first team. He found success for the Chelsea youth team in 2014-15 when he scored forty-one goals in thirty-nine appearances.
During Solanke's career at Chelsea he has won the FA Youth Cup twice, UEFA Youth Cup, and the UEFA U17 Championship with England where he finished tied for the top scorer.
Last season he was loaned to Dutch side Vitesse where he scored seven goals in twenty-five showings. He is currently in South Korea representing the England U20s in the U20 World Cup where has currently has two goals, one of which was the lone goal in the Young Lions' 1-0 win over Mexico in the quarterfinals.
What does this mean for Chelsea?
Chelsea letting Solanke go shows they don't see him developing into the top class striker that would make waves in the first team.
Instead, manager Antonio Conte is putting his faith in Michy Batshuayi or other youth strikers such as Izzy Brown or Tammy Abraham.
Like Patrick Bamford, we will see just how good Abraham will be as he is linked with a loan move to a couple Premier League sides.
This isn't a huge loss for the Blues. We've seen a similar situation that saw England international Daniel Sturridge find success for the Reds, but even that wasn't a defining transfer for the London side as they bounced back.
Solanke moving to Liverpool is a good move for all sides. He will most likely get more playing time under Jurgen Klopp, Chelsea have plenty other strikers to fill a "back up role" (not that Solanke was the back up anyway), and Liverpool take a chance on a striker who has room to grow.