OPINION
Phil Thompson declared the summer signing of Dominic Solanke a hit for Liverpool ahead of the Chelsea game, but the pundit must now regret his decision.
The retired Reds defender was assessing all of the transfer business that Jurgen Klopp’s side had completed this season, and came to the conclusion that the signing of Solanke from Chelsea had been a hit.
“It is very difficult to say at this stage because he’s such a young lad and still learning,” Thompson said on Sky Sports’ website.
“To me he’s looked ready when he’s come on and always looked eager to work hard, from what I’ve heard from the U23s, he’s been willing to do his bit and getting on in the semi-final must’ve been a dream for him.”
While the Sky Sports pundit was reluctant to go out on a limb with his praise for the 20-year-old forward, suggesting there was work to do, he probably shouldn’t have boldly labelled his arrival a hit.
Everything Thompson said about Solanke is true, his attitude defiantly looks right, but the forward’s display against his former side on Sunday proved the pundit had jumped the gun with his assessment.
The 20-year-old played the last 15 minutes of the Reds’ 1-0 defeat to the Blues on Sunday and missed a golden chance to earn his side a point from the match right at the death.
Solanke headed the ball well wide of the goal, after Sadio Mane found the forward in the box with an accurate cross, and it summed up his spell at Anfield so far.
The starlet has featured 26 times for the Reds across all competitions this season and is still yet to find the back of the net.
It’s not like Solanke hasn’t had several opportunities to grab his first goal for club, he’s constantly getting in the right positions, but he doesn’t seem clinical in front of goal, at least at senior level.
The forward previously scored 15 goals in 24 appearances for Chelsea’s Under-23s side and seemed to score for fun, but as of yet he’s not proven that he’s capable of making the step up to senior level.
However given his age and that his head appears to be screwed on right, it’s only a matter time before Solanke blossoms at Anfield, even though it might take a temporary spell away to get there.
Therefore it’s clear that Thompson may eventually be right about his signing being a hit, but the pundit has jumped the gun by delivering the positive verdict so early, and the forward’s latest outing proved it.
