Liverpool to Raid Chelsea Academy for England Youth International

There have been whispers previously, rumours that Liverpool could sign Dominic Solanke away from Chelsea after the 19-year-old England youth international refused efforts by the Blues to sign him to a new deal over the past season. Now it appears a settled thing; a done deal.

Based on multiple reports from club-connected journalists, it’s only a matter of time now before Liverpool sign the promising young striker to a £20k per week deal. Due to the fact he’s a youth player, Liverpool will have to pay a compensation fee—likely arbitrated—and expect it to be around £3M.

It’s also possible the two clubs could come to an agreement on a fee before the case goes to arbitration, avoiding the lengthy wait as in the Danny Ings case. Solanke has represented England up to the U21 level so far, and is set to head off with the U20s this summer for the U20 World Cup.

Solanke also reportedly had offers in hand from Red Bull Leipzig and Celtic, neither of whom would have been required to pay more than a few hundred thousand in compensation. In the end, Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool’s willingness to give young players opportunities kept him in England.

The 19-year-old from Basingstoke spent 2016-17 at Chelsea with their U23 team but had previously, in 2015-16, spent the season on loan at Vitesse Arnhem in the Eredivisie, where he made 25 league appearances as an 18-year-old and scored seven goals and an assist in 1,811 total minutes.

According to the reports, Solanke will arrive at Liverpool expecting to compete for minutes in the domestic cup competitions next year alongside Liverpool youngsters like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Woodburn, and Ovie Ejaria while spending most of his time with the U23s.

In first team transfer news, the club continue to prioritise the signings of stars Virgil van Dijk, Naby Keïta, and Mohamed Salah, though their efforts to land Ryan Sessegnon took a blow recently with news the fullback could prefer Tottenham.