Solanke fee shows Newcastle never had a chance of signing him

In a huge shock, Bournemouth have signed Dominic Solanke permanently from Liverpool. What’s more shocking is that they’ve paid £19million for him.

So far in his career, Solanke has scored one Premier League goal, with chances limited at Liverpool, and before that Chelsea. At 21-years-old, he’s got a huge future ahead of him. For his sake, hopefully he came achieve his potential at Bournemouth.

But my word, that fee is ridiculous. To put things in perspective, Bournemouth have paid £19 million pounds for a striker who has started just five Premier League games in his career. That’s more money than Newcastle have ever paid for a player.

And the fee proves that Newcastle are competing in a different world yet again.

Newcastle never could’ve signed Solanke

Last year, the Magpies were linked with a move for the forward, as Rafa Benitez looked to improve his attacking options in January.

With Kenedy and Salomon Rondon in on loan, the deal would have had to have been a permanent one. So therefore, Newcastle would have had to break their transfer record if they seriously wanted to sign Solanke.

This shows various things:

1. Newcastle can’t even compete for a striker who has almost no first-team experience.
2. Transfer fees are so inflated, it’s hard to see who Newcastle can actually sign this month.
3. Bournemouth must have money to waste.

Fair play to the Cherries for flashing the cash and backing boss Eddie Howe. On the face of it, it’s a lot of money for Solanke, but he might prove to be worth it. The fact is that at least Bournemouth are willing to take that risk and spend the money required to compete.

Whereas Mike Ashley’s Newcastle show no ambition and do everything on a shoestring budget.

It’s no surprise that one team is fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table while the other is competing for a place in the top half.

Related Topics