Liverpool to sign Dominic Solanke from Chelsea. Fee to be decided by tribunal.
Liverpool to sign Dominic Solanke after striker turns back on Chelsea
• Highly-rated England youth international to cost Anfield club £2m-£3m
• 19-year-old rejected new Chelsea deal due to lack of opportunities
Liverpool are to sign Dominic Solanke from Chelsea having beaten several Premier League and European clubs to a deal for the promising young striker.
The 19-year-old has agreed terms with the Anfield club after refusing to sign a contract extension at Stamford Bridge amid concern over a lack of first-team opportunities. Solanke’s current deal expires this summer but, as he is under 24, Liverpool will have to pay
Chelsea a compensation fee to be decided by a tribunal. The fee is expected to be in the region of £2m-£3m.
Solanke has an impressive goalscoring record for Chelsea’s youth teams and represented England up to Under-21 level. He is currently part of Paul Simpson’s squad for the Under-20s World Cup in South Korea and spent the 2015-16 season on loan at Vitesse Arnhem, where he scored seven goals in 25 appearances.
The striker’s stand-off with Chelsea over a new contract had alerted an array of clubs to his availability and several Premier League teams competed with Liverpool for his signature. Solanke, who will earn under £20,000-a-week at Anfield, also had offers from Red Bull Leipzig in Germany and Celtic, who saw him as a potential replacement for Moussa Dembélé.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp intends to deploy Solanke in the club’s Under-23s team initially and he looks to develop a group of young talent – featuring the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Woodburn and Harry Wilson – to challenge the first team and feature in cup competitions next season.
As Solanke is over 17 and in line to sign a professional contract with Liverpool, the club’s transfer embargo – which applies to signing academy players from other English league clubs for two years – does not apply.
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