£3m starlet has to do well in his limited chances at Liverpool in order to play for the national team – agreed?

Solanke needs more game time if he has to do well for his national team

According to the Daily Mail, the England FA are anxious about the lack of playing time offered to striker Dominic Solanke at Liverpool, which would hamper his progress and international ambitions. The 20-year-old was bought from Chelsea last season, for a fee worth around £3m.

Solanke is regarded very highly by the FA as one of the best English strikers in the U-20 and U-21 level. Senior team manager Gareth Southgate even called him up last year and gave him a chance to train with the seniors. (Daily Mail)

So, now the onus is on the Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to possibly give some game time to the 20-year-old during this long season. The positive problem for the German is that the Reds have done some very good business this year, meaning the squad is fairly deep and strong.

The cup fixtures are the only plausible games in which the manager can field Solanke. Hence, the pressure will be on the striker to perform in the limited opportunities and impress the boss.

Liverpool is a club which gives academy players a chance to shine, failing which they quickly sell the players to another club. An example is Trent Alexander-Arnold, who got his chance at right-back last season. The 19-year-old took it with aplomb.

So if Liverpool go on a good run in the domestic cup competitions, Solanke can get more minutes. There is no doubt on anyone’s mind that he is a special talent and will grow into one of the better centre-forwards, but from Klopp’s perspective, it is quite hard to give the 20-year-old some games in crunch situations.

The good thing about the German is he always thinks about his players. If the player isn’t happy at the club and wants to go out because of a lack of game time, Klopp respects the player’s decision and sell or loan him.

 

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As for this season, Solanke is expected to get very limited minutes in the first-team, in which he has to take up the baton and perform exceptionally well to really catch the eye.

The 20-year-old obviously needs more playing time to improve his national team chances. However, to do that at Liverpool, he has to take whatever chances come his way.