The road to scoring goals in the Premier League has been a pretty long one for Bournemouth’s thriving hitman, Dominic Solanke.
The former Chelsea and Liverpool striker struggled at those two clubs, scoring just one goal from 28 appearances for both sides between 2014 and 2019.
But on Saturday, Dominic Solanke probably produced one of the best moments of his career when he downed Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The 26-year-old opened the scoring for Andoni Iraola’s side, as the Cherries secured their first-ever win at Manchester United by thumping them 3-0.
That’s eight Premier League goals in 16 matches for Dominic Solanke and he is a player who Owen Hargreaves now wants at Manchester United, as he told Premier League Productions (11/12/23 at 2:20 pm).
Rather than asking, what is going wrong at Manchester United? It’s best to ask, What’s not going wrong? Because nearly everything is.
One of the major issues facing Erik ten Hag is the lack of goals within his team. Big-money summer signing Rasmus Hojlund is yet to score in the Premier League, while Marcus Rashford has only scored two goals this term.
That’s why Owen Hargreaves wants to see Dominic Solanke in the red half of Manchester because he feels that ‘another big move’ is on the cards for him.
Dominic Solanke to Manchester United?
“I would take him to Manchester United all day,” said Hargreaves. “At Chelsea, he was the prized academy player.
“He went to Liverpool with that brilliant front three. That generational front three. He was never going to break into that.
“But I think he would have learned and been mentored by Firmino, Mane, and Salah. We saw it with Wilf (Zaha) when he went to Manchester United. He wasn’t ready. He was too young.
“I think now, Solanke, he will make another big move. Whether it’s Manchester United or not. But to get a kid that big and technically that good who is smart enough to run the channels and press. He will get another chance at the top, I am certain.”
Dominic Solanke at Chelsea and Liverpool
Over the years, Chelsea has had a number of big stars come through their academy. But many have hardly tasted first-team football and have built their careers elsewhere.
Solanke did just that, but it came with its own issues when he joined Liverpool, including struggling for starts, strong performances, and goals.
Yes, he flopped on Merseyside, but he was still young and it still pushed then-Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe to sign the Englishman for £19 million in 2019.
At the time, it proved to be a disaster because Solanke struggled. And Bournemouth got relegated.
But that’s when Solanke picked himself up and started to showcase his true worth, including helping his team back to the Premier League, where he is now thriving for a very vibrant and attack-minded side.
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