After contract talks reached a dead-end in January, Chelsea’s Dominic Solanke is reportedly set to complete a summer move to rivals Liverpool.
Sources close to the Sun revealed on Friday that Chelsea striker Dominic Solanke is eyeing a move up to Merseyside in the summer to work under Jurgen Klopp following a contract stand-off with the Blues in January.
Chelsea are reportedly refusing to meet the striker’s £50,000 wage demand and having failed to arrive at a resolution the 21-year-old is expected to leave in the summer when his contract runs out.
Liverpool face paying up to £8 million in compensation as the teenager’s fee will go to a tribunal like they did with Danny Ings when they purchased him from Burnley two summers ago.
Chelsea have not made a breakthrough in contract talks with one of the biggest talents in the country, who was asked to train with the England senior squad two years ago under Roy Hodgson.
Solanke has long been heralded as a mercurial talent among the ranks of the Chelsea academy and he is long overdue a break-through into the first-team considering his exploits out on-loan at Dutch club Vitesse.
But with Diego Costa’s form affording even second-choice Michy Batshuayi very limited play-time, it’s unlikely Solanke will have his shot at the Bridge.
The Blues’ further interest in Celtic’s £40 million-rated starlet Moussa Dembele has shown that there is little hope for young forwards of the likes of Solanke and Tammy Abraham at the club.
Patrick Bamford, yet another promising academy prospect was sold in January to Middlesborough following an array of loan spells over the past few seasons and it appears his fellow compatriot is also set to follow suit with a move out to Liverpool.
Liverpool are on the look-out for a striker and with Daniel Sturridge seemingly out of favour at the club, there could be an opening for the youngster to exploit as Klopp prepares a squad capable of regularly challenging for the Premier League.
While the Reds are reportedly unwilling to meet his wage demands, the promise of a future under Klopp is seemingly an attractive prospect for a youngster who is also being courted by Ex-Reds boss Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic.
But the Scottish giants aren’t able to match up to what the Reds can offer. Moreover, the Sun also claims that the forward has informed friends and family about the possible move leaving the ball in Liverpool’s court to step forward and complete the signing.
Whether it’ll come through or not is a question that’ll be answered in a few months time but with contract talks with Chelsea reaching a stand-off it’ll be interesting to see whose books will Solanke end up in the summer.
