Better than Nunez: Liverpool left ruing sale after five years

Tom Weber

• Updated: 23 Dec 2023 18:35 GMT
• 3 min read

Liverpool felt they got a great deal when they turned a €21 million profit on Dominic Solanke, but five years on, the Reds could use a striker like him.

Many players tipped for stardom from a young age fall by the wayside; that is the nature of football. Dominic Solanke appeared to be just another one of those erstwhile wonderkids whose name would be lost to time.

A product of Chelsea's famed academy, Solanke looked destined to become English football's next great striker sensation while at Cobham during the early to mid-2010s. By 2017, however, it was clear that his chance to break into the Blues first team had passed and he departed upon the expiration of his deal.

A new chance to thrive at a big team presented itself when he was snapped up by Liverpool, but it was a similar story. In the rare chances he was given, Solanke flattered to deceive. Liverpool's disappointment that their hope in the striker had been misplaced was softened when Bournemouth showed themselves willing to shell out a whopping €21m on a player who only had a single Premier League goal to his name in January 2019.

For the first year or so, it looked a dreadful piece of business by the Cherries as Solanke again failed to have an impact, with the season ending in relegation. But he has since proved the doubters wrong.

The Premier League's most in-form striker

Solanke notched 15 goals in his first season in the Championship and a whopping 29 in his second, firing Bournemouth back into the Premier League. Though he again struggled last season, scoring just six, he has already more than doubled his tally this time around.

At this point, it is fair to say that Dominic Solanke is the English top flight's most in-form striker, having just hit a hat-trick against Nottingham Forest. It took his record for the season up to 12 goals in 20 games in all competitions.

While it would, of course, be silly to suggest that Liverpool (or Chelsea) should have kept the faith - absolutely nobody saw this coming - it is ironic how quickly things can change. Five years ago, Liverpool had Europe's most feared attacking trio and didn't need Solanke.

Now, they have misfiring Darwin Nunez up top - who cost them as much as €100m and has gone nine games without scoring - while a man they once signed for free is finding the back of the net for fun - but for a different team.