Chelsea set to receive larger windfall from Solanke deal
Chelsea lost a major part of their academy setup in the summer when Dominic Solanke left to join Liverpool when his contract at Stamford Bridge expired.
The striker was frustrated with a lack of first-team opportunities at Chelsea having only appeared once for the Blues and decided that Liverpool could offer him those chances that Chelsea couldn’t afford him and having made 10 appearances already this season, perhaps that decision is justified.
As per FA rules, Chelsea are entitled to a compensation fee from Liverpool for Solanke despite the players leaving on a free transfer, and so far a fee hasn’t been settled upon.
After rejecting Liverpool’s opening £3m offer, Chelsea look set to take things to a tribunal who will decide on a mandatory fee, with the Blues looking for a figure in excess of £10m.
The 20-year-old was England’s star performer as they won the U20 World Cup in the summer, finishing as the tournaments top scorer and winning the player of the tournament award.
Solanke has continued his goalscoring exploits for the U21s, netting in their 2-0 win over Ukraine last week, prompting Gareth Southgate to promote him to the senior squad for England’s friendly against Brazil this week.
This is music to Chelsea’s ears, say the London Evening Standard, as the Blues plan on using this senior call-up in their case against Liverpool to secure a larger fee, and it will only strengthen their stance. Chelsea are now likely to receive a larger fee now than they would have if Solanke had yet to receive a senior call-up.