Dominic Solanke finally justifying his hefty price tag in a Bournemouth shirt

Dominic Solanke’s move to Bournemouth in January 2019 certainly raised a few eyebrows – mainly because the Cherries had bought a player for £19 million after scoring just one Premier League goal during his time at Chelsea and Liverpool.

The 23-year-old came through the academy at Chelsea but found it tough to get regular opportunities, making just one appearance which came in a 6-0 win for the Blues in the Champions League making him the second youngest-ever English player to play in the Champions League – only older than Jack Wilshere.

However, the Reading-born striker then went for a spell to the Netherlands at Vitesse, a trip which a number of youngsters have done at the West London club in recent years. Solanke went onto make 26 first appearances for the Dutch club, scoring on seven occasions.

Following that loan spell, the forward spent another season at Chelsea but didn’t make an appearance and was then transferred to Liverpool following the end of his Blues’ contract, with the Reds paying a tribunal-set fee of £3 million.

After signing for Jurgen Klopp’s side, Solanke earned his first call up to the senior England side in November 2017 and made his first cap for his country after coming on for the final 15 minutes in 0-0 friendly draw with Brazil at Wembley Stadium.

Due to the quality and form of Liverpool’s potent front three, Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, Solanke found it very difficult to break into Klopp’s plans. The forward featured in just 27 matches during his time at the club before moving down to the South Coast.

The striker found life tough in the first 18 months of joining the club, failing to score a single Premier League goal in his first 38 appearances for the club. Solanke finally broke his duck last summer during Project Restart when he scored a brace in Bournemouth’s 4-1 win over Leicester City.

He also scored in the club’s 3-1 win over Everton on the final day of the season but it ultimately wasn’t enough to keep the club in the Premier League, suffering relegation by one point after Aston Villa secured a draw at West Ham to keep the West Midlands club in the top division.

However, Solanke was given a real chance to impress for the club following the relegation with Callum Wilson leaving for Newcastle United in the Premier League. Much uncertainty also surrounded the future of fellow striker Josh King, although the Norweigan striker did remain at the club despite being heavily linked with a move away.

This all meant that the former Liverpool man Solanke was trusted with the number one striker position under new boss Jason Tindall who replaced Eddie Howe in the Cherries dugout.

He has been in brilliant form for Bournemouth this season, scoring ten goals in 24 appearances so far, the most recent of which he scored in the club’s 1-1 draw with Millwall at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday evening.

The 23-year-old has flurished after being afforded regular game time for the first time since his loan move at Vitesse and his reaping the rewards. He’s currently the fifth top scorer in the division, only behind Ivan Toney (Brentford), Adam Armstrong (Blackburn Rovers), Lucas Joao (Reading) and Teemu Pukki (Norwich City) in the standings.

Due to his continued form, he has kept King out of the side, a player who has been influential for Bournemouth in recent years. The forward did get afforded an opportunity against Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup last weekend and netted twice as the Cherries won 4-1.

It is going to be vital for the club to keep Solanke fit and available as the striker remains key in their quest to earn an instant return to the Premier League.

Tindall spoke about Solanke’s influence on the side following the draw against Millwall.

“Yeah, halfway through the season and Dom’s now into double figures, 10 goals and there’s a lot more to come from Dom.

“You can see he’s playing with confidence and he’s such a good player for the team.

“He took his goal extremely well and it’s just a shame that it wasn’t enough to win the game for us.”

The Englishman will hope to add to his tally this weekend when the Cherries host Luton Town at the Vitality Stadium.