Eagle » Mon Apr 09, 2018 6:23 pm wrote:That was part of the problem on Saturday Woof. With the quality on the ball of Trent and Robbo replaced with Klavan and Clyne who are out and out defenders, the build up play was poor and we never got behind them in the wide areas in the final third. Everything was in the air and straight down Solanke's throat while he was surrounded by several blue shirts. I don't think either Solanke or Ings are long term deputies/competition for Firmino but they are being harshly judged. If they did get some game time in our best 11 by just replacing Firmino up top they'd look much better.
I'd like to see Solanke go out on loan to a promotion chasing side in the Championship next season. If he can play all season and get a bag full of goals he'd get a chance to come back here and be a valuable squad player who we could rely on.
Agree with your summary of his performance against the Bitterz but I think Klopp brought him in for a reason and only with game time will we see why the manager views him as a coup for the club ,I don't think we can go far wrong with the managers judgement ,I mean you only have to look at how many fans were willing to write off Karius before he got a run of games. Fortunately Solanke has bags of time and is young enough to confirm the managers belief in his ability.
Liverpool Echo 17th Nov 2017
Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke has a big future for both club and country.The 20-year-old frontman returned to Melwood on a high this week after making his senior England debut against Brazil at Wembley.Solanke has only made one start for the Reds since his summer move from Chelsea but Klopp was delighted to see him given the chance to shine by Gareth Southgate.
“It was no problem. Dom is a fantastic guy,” Klopp said.“It was 100% right. It was a situation where a few players were missing but he will be a future player for England, I am 100% convinced of that.
“He has got everything you will need. Okay, in this moment it’s really early. He has had a number of games for us but not always many minutes.
“You saw in those 15 minutes (against Brazil) that he got involved immediately. He could have scored.
“I am happy for him. Next time if he is involved it will be no problem. Boys like him, Joe (Gomez), (Tammy) Abraham, (Ruben) Loftus-Cheek. They are the future for England. It is cool. Dom has quality and that’s good.”
Solanke, who was crowned player of the tournament when England Under-20s won the World Cup back in June, was attracted to Liverpool by Klopp’s willingess to put his faith in youth.
He has already clocked up 10 appearances for the Reds this term but nine of them have been as a substitute. Solanke, whose transfer fee has yet to be decided by a tribunal, is set to be back on bench duty for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Southampton at Anfield.
“Apart from his football skills, his character is absolutely outstanding,” Klopp said.“He is completely calm with the situation. He had one game from the beginning, okay we lost (against Leicester in the League Cup) but he did really well.
He is really involved, an important member of the squad. That’s what he wanted. He wants to be closer. All the rest he has to do by himself. Sometimes you need a little bit of luck to be playing and scoring.“It hasn’t happened too often but he’s this close and I am really happy to have him here. He is doing so well and he will not be disappointed if he doesn’t start at the weekend.
“He doesn’t feel like ‘roll out the red carpet’. He is a smart lad, very football smart and that makes him easy to work with.”
If a manager as astute as Klopp says he's football smart then that's exactly the type of player you retain for the future.