Dominic Solanke

Dominic Solanke was ice cool when it mattered most in his debut season here, 2024/25.

That was when the striker stepped up to the penalty spot in our UEFA Europa League quarter-final, second leg against the backdrop of a cauldron of noise at Eintracht Frankfurt's Deutsche Bank Park.

The score was still 0-0 on aggregate, yet there were no nerves from the striker, who planted his penalty down the middle of the goal - the only goal of the tie. Dom was there again in the second leg of the semi-final against Bodo/Glimt as, after winning the first leg 3-1, we crucially scored the first goal of the second leg in Norway.

A forward who works his socks off in every game, leading the press, Dominic featured in 45 of our 60 games in all competitions in 2024/25, scoring 16 goals, including nine in 27 in the Premier League.

Dominic joined us from AFC Bournemouth in August, 2024.

He began his career with Chelsea and progressed through the ranks to play a key role in multiple youth team successes. His impressive performances earned him his first team debut in October, 2014, against NK Maribor in the UEFA Champions League, becoming Chelsea’s youngest ever player to feature in the competition.

In August, 2015, he headed out on loan to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem, where he made 26 appearances in all competitions, scoring seven times.

A clinical and imposing attacker, Dominic returned to Chelsea following his loan and joined Liverpool ahead of the 2017/18 campaign, making his debut for the Merseyside club the following month. During his spell at Anfield, he made 27 senior appearances in all competitions and scored his first Premier League goal in May, 2018, against Brighton.

In January, 2019, he moved to Bournemouth and made 10 appearances across the second half of the season. Dominic featured regularly for the Cherries the following campaign and in 2020/21 he finished the season as the club’s joint top goalscorer in the Championship. The 2021/22 season saw Dominic enjoy his most prolific campaign, scoring 29 goals in 46 appearances, topping the Championship’s goalscorer chart. In addition to helping his side earn promotion back to the Premier League, he was also named in the 2021/22 EFL Championship Team of the Year and the PFA Championship Team of the Year.

During his time on the south coast, he made 216 appearances in all competitions, scoring 77 goals and last term, he featured for Bournemouth in every one of their 38 Premier League games, finishing as joint fourth highest goalscorer in the division, netting 19 goals across the campaign. His impressive form continued, as he scored his first senior hat-trick against Nottingham Forest, which helped him claim the Premier League Player of the Month Award for December, 2023.

On the international stage, Dominic has featured for England across numerous age categories and in 2014 helped the Young Lions claim the Under-17 UEFA European Championship, finishing the tournament as joint top scorer with four goals. Three years later at the Under-20 FIFA World Cup, he played a vital role in England’s success and his notable performances saw him claim the Golden Ball and named as the Player of the Tournament. Dominic made his senior England debut in November, 2017, coming on as a substitute in a friendly against Brazil at Wembley.