Football: Liverpool Makes a Long-term Bet

Promising striker Dominic Solanke has completed a move to Liverpool after spending the last four years as yet another Chelsea youngster who struggled to get a game for the Premier League champions. The 19-year-old hasn’t played a single Premier League game, as The Blues usually have an expensive foreign forward to play instead.

Style of play

Chelsea coaches have long described the 6’1” man as the next Didier Drogba and now everyone in English football knows about him thanks to his recent performances for the nation’s U20s World Cup winning side, when he was player of the tournament.

So how important will the teenager be to Liverpool as the Mersysiders strive to cement their status as title challengers?Although he has often been described as a Drogba-style forward I would argue that Solanke has more of a technical side to his game.

The Ivorian’s main asset was his power and physicality; you wouldn’t ever hear him compared to someone as technical as Dennis Bergkamp. Solanke shares traits with them both. He’s a strong striker with the ability to turn his man without even touching the ball, something Drogba didn’t do often.

During the U20s World Cup Solanke dropped deeper to receive the ball during games in which his team was struggling to make an impact.

On several occasions he was found picking the ball up inside his own half and charging at a host of opposition players before laying off the killer pass, an ability possessed by few young forwards and certainly not a characteristic  of Drogba’s.

At the age of 19 he has already proven he can handle pressure, having played on loan for Vitesse in the Netherlands. He was forced there to start in a string of nine games while other strikers were injured. In that period he scored five goals, three of them against sides above Vitesse on the ladder, and managed to register two assists.

Despite all the comparisons to Drogba and other physical forwards, Solanke’s finest trait is his energetic Luis Surez-esque niggling. The English striker is often hustling to win the ball back. When he does he manages to get himself in and out of tight situations with ease, so he tends to drop off to pick the ball up in deeper areas to create chances.

What impact will he have?

Unfortunately for Solanke, he will probably spend the majority of his first season at Anfield on the bench. I expect him to be utilised in games against weaker teams to allow Liverpool’s creative players to play off him. Although he doesn’t fix the long-term problem of finding a world-class striker, Solanke may be able to contribute a hat-full of goals over the season. I can see him becoming the second striker option behind Roberto Firmino, as Jurgen Klopp has been known to give youngsters a chance. I expect him to have a solid season but I believe he is a signing made for the future.

Fun Fact

After Solanke won the Golden Ball award this summer at the U20s World Cup he was asked what it was like leading a team to such a big victory and his response was: “pressure makes diamonds”.

 

by Nubaid Haroon

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