Liverpool fans are nervous ahead of the clash with Bournemouth but their biggest fear is that Dominic Solanke will come back to haunt them with a goal.
When Liverpool sold Dominic Solanke to Bournemouth last month for £19 million + add-ons, most Reds saw it as an excellent piece of business. Now they are not sure.
Liverpool host The Cherries on Saturday and it looks very likely the ex-Red will start-up front at Anfield. He made his first start in midweek in the 2-0 defeat away to Cardiff after not making it off the bench against his other former club Chelsea last weekend.
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Callum Wilson – Bournemouth’s first choice striker – will miss the game prompting Solanke’s inclusion. Nathaniel Clyne who is on-loan form Liverpool is ineligible to play against his parent club.
Sporting director Michael Edwards was heralded by the fans for getting such a decent fee for a player who was struggling to even make the bench at Anfield.
However there is an element of paranoia that he will grab a goal tomorrow and dent Liverpool’s chances of pushing for the title.
The England under-21 star spent 18 months on Merseyside and managed only one goal and an assist. He is clearly talented but was unable to find the minutes he needed to progress with the Reds.
Jurgen Klopp spoke about him in his pre-match press conference today:
“He’s a wonderful guy, a big talent. We couldn’t give him enough match time, now he got his first start last week. Eddie Howe doing an outstanding job at Bournemouth.”
While watching him in his short time with Liverpool there is little to show he will be a huge threat against Virgil van Dijk.
The worry is more a paranoid sense that these things ‘always happen to us’. Has Christian Benteke even scored for Crystal Palace since he bagged a brace against us in his return to Anfield?
It’s this kind of narrative – rather than Solanke’s actual threat – that has Liverpool fans biting nails before tomorrow’s game.