Dominic Solanke

2014–15 season

Solanke signed his first professional contract with Chelsea in September 2014. Due to the injury of Diego Costa, Solanke was named on the bench for a Premier League match against Crystal Palace on 18 October 2014. Three days later, he made his first-team debut as a substitute for Oscar in the 73rd minute of a 6–0 win over NK Maribor in the UEFA Champions League. This made him the youngest player to debut in the UEFA Champions League for Chelsea, later eclipsed by Reggie Walsh in October 2025.

He finished as top scorer in the group stages of the UEFA Youth League after scoring a hat-trick in the final group stage match against Sporting CP. On 10 April 2015, Solanke scored two goals in the semi-final of the 2014–15 UEFA Youth League against Roma to send Chelsea into the final. He scored in the 3–2 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Youth League final, ending the tournament with 12 goals in nine appearances as Chelsea won the title. On 20 April 2015, Solanke scored a late goal to give the team side a 3–1 win in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup final against Manchester City. He played in the 2–1 win in the second leg, as Chelsea won the final 5–2 on aggregate. On 7 May 2015, Solanke reached 41 goals for the season after scoring a hat-trick in a 4–3 victory over Liverpool U21. He was awarded the inaugural Chelsea Academy Player of the Year award for the 2014–15 season.

2015–16 season: Loan to Vitesse On 4 August 2015, Solanke joined Eredivisie club Vitesse on a season-long loan to gain first-team experience. After getting approval from FIFA to play in the Netherlands, he made his debut on 23 August 2015, coming off the bench in the 79th minute against Feyenoord, the match ending in a 2–0 defeat for Vitesse. He ended the season with seven goals in 25 appearances,

2016–17 season After rejecting many loan offers from several clubs, Solanke was retained as Chelsea's third-choice striker behind Diego Costa and Michy Batshuayi for the first half of the 2016–17 season. On 23 August 2016, he was involved in Chelsea's matchday squad for the first time since returning from his loan at Vitesse, for their EFL Cup home tie against Bristol Rovers. In February 2017, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte confirmed that it was likely that Solanke would leave the club in the summer upon the expiry of his contract.

Liverpool On 30 May 2017, Solanke agreed to sign for Premier League club Liverpool on 1 July upon the expiration of his Chelsea contract. He was officially confirmed as a Liverpool player on 10 July 2017, with Liverpool expected to pay a tribunal-set fee of around £3 million. He made his debut for the club on 16 August 2017, coming on as a substitute for Roberto Firmino in a 2–1 UEFA Champions League first-leg win over TSG Hoffenheim. His first Premier League start for Liverpool came on 30 November in a 3–0 win over Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium. He scored his first and only Liverpool goal on 13 May 2018, the final day of the 2017–18 season, in the 4–0 home victory against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Bournemouth

Solanke signed for fellow Premier League club Bournemouth on 4 January 2019 on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee, reported by BBC Sport as £19 million. He made his debut on 2 February in a 2–0 away loss against Cardiff City in the league.

Solanke scored his first and second Premier League goals for Bournemouth on his 39th league appearance on 12 July 2020, a 4–1 win over Leicester City. He then scored in Bournemouth's 3–1 victory at Everton on the final day of the 2019–20 Premier League season but it was not enough to save the club from relegation to the EFL Championship.

Solanke scored fifteen goals during the 2020–21 season, finishing as the club's joint top goal scorer in the Championship along with Arnaut Danjuma. The following season, Solanke scored 29 goals as Bournemouth were promoted back to the Premier League, finishing as runner-up in the Championship.

On Bournemouth's return to the Premier League during the 2022–23 season, Solanke scored six goals and finished as the club's top assister in the league with seven assists. On 14 September 2023, he signed a new contract until 2027.

On 23 December 2023, Solanke scored his first senior hat-trick in a 3–2 win over Nottingham Forest. On 12 January 2024, after Solanke scored six goals in seven matches in December, he won the Premier League Player of the Month award for that month. Solanke thus became the first Bournemouth player to win the award. In the 2023–24 season, he set a new personal record in the Premier League with 19 goals.

Tottenham Hotspur On 10 August 2024, Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of Solanke on a six-year contract, which was a club-record departure for Bournemouth, as well as a potential club-record arrival for Spurs at a reported fee of £55 million, with a further £10 million possible in bonuses. On 19 August, he made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Leicester City in the league. On 21 September 2024, Solanke scored his first goal for Spurs in a 3–1 home win over Brentford. On 26 September, Solanke scored his first career goal in any UEFA club competition in a 3–0 home win over Qarabağ in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

On 8 May 2025, Solanke scored his 100th career goal in Spurs' 2–0 away win against Bodø/Glimt in the second leg of the Europa League semi-final. He scored his first goal of the 2025–26 season in a 2–0 win against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League.

International career Solanke has represented England at all youth levels. In May 2014, Solanke was part of the under-17 team that won the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He was the tournament's joint top scorer with four goals in four appearances, a brace against Turkey, a goal in the semi-final secured a place in the final, and England's goal in the final.

In January 2015, Solanke was named the England Men's Youth Player of the Year for 2014. In March 2015, Solanke collected his trophy and was invited to train with the senior England squad. He was named in the under-19 squad for the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.

Solanke was named in the under-20 squad for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He scored four goals in the tournament; in the quarter-final, he scored the only goal against Mexico as England advanced into the semi-final, and scored twice in the semi-final as England beat Italy 3–1 to reach the final. Solanke started as England beat Venezuela 1–0 in the final. Solanke was awarded the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament.

Solanke was called up by the senior team for the first time in November 2017 for a friendly against Brazil at Wembley. He came on as a 75th-minute substitute in a 0–0 draw.

On 27 May 2019, Solanke was included in England's 23-man squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Due to his impressive form in the 2023–24 season, there were calls for Solanke to be included in England's squad for UEFA Euro 2024, but Gareth Southgate did not include him in the final 26-man squad. Solanke later said: "The Euros were definitely something I was pushing for, but there are so many players that can represent England – we're probably one of the strongest in the world, so it's not easy to get picked."

In October 2024, Solanke was recalled after a seven-year absence from the international stage and made his second appearance for the senior team when he came on as a 72nd-minute substitute in a 2–1 loss against Greece.

Style of play Solanke primarily plays as a striker, although can also operate as either an attacking midfielder or a winger. Former Chelsea striker Tore André Flo has said that Solanke "works really hard", has "got very good physique" and "a great touch on the ball". He went on to say: "He's quick but often what impresses me the most is when he looks like he's lost the ball, he somehow manages to get out with the ball, no matter how tight the situation is or how difficult it looks".

Personal life Outside of football, Solanke is a fan of anime and manga. During his time at Bournemouth and Tottenham, Solanke used celebrations based on various anime series, including Naruto, Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece and Demon Slayer.

Shortly after signing a contract with Bournemouth in 2023, Solanke revealed that he had become a father. Solanke got engaged to Erica Raimondi in November 2022, with the couple getting married on 17 June 2025. Solanke is a born again practicing Christian; he was baptised a week before turning 28 years old.

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Chelsea Youth FA Youth Cup: 2013–14,

Tottenham Hotspur UEFA Europa League: 2024–25

England U17 UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2014 UEFA Youth League top goalscorer: 2014–15 Chelsea Academy Player of the Year: 2014–15 PFA Team of the Year: 2021–22 Championship Premier League Player of the Month: December 2023 Premier League Goal of the Month: February 2026 UEFA Europa League Team of the Season: 2024–25