Contract negotiations between Chelsea and their talented English striker Dominic Solanke have stalled
Earlier this year it was reported that Chelsea youngster had demanded a contract worth 50,000-a-week. It was something that Chelsea had outright rejected and even threatened to banish him to youth ranks rather than let him train with the first team as he has been doing for quite some time now. Premier League rivals Arsenal were also rumoured to be interested in securing his services after the developments regarding his contract were revealed.
However, a month ago Chelsea fans had reason to be positive after it was reported that the Blues had managed to convince Solanke to lower his wage demands and a new deal would be signed imminently, and the fact that he was named on the bench for Chelsea’s match against Leicester City last month led fans to assume that all was well between club and the player.
But according to the Sun, contract negotiations between Chelsea and the highly rated Englishman have stalled. The striker is yet to feature in a first team game this season and alongside summer acquisition Michy Batshuayi, has had to spend a lot of time on the sidelines due to Diego Costa’s stellar form.
The Spanish international’s resurgence has seen him storm to the top of the Premier League goal scoring charts with 10 goals in 12 games this season and is clearly undroppable when on this kind of form. Solanke is currently on the last year of his contract with the club and will reportedly be allowed to speak to clubs in January and the report states that he is being pursued by a number of clubs.
His only appearance in Chelsea colours came against the Manchester United U23s in August.
It was widely expected that Chelsea would lineup in Conte’s favoured 3-5-2 formation which saw him and Juventus dominate the Serie A during his 3-year-spell with the Biaconeri.
That two striker system would have seen Batshuayi and Costa lining up together and perhaps more game time for Solanke. But after experimenting with a 4-1-4-1 for a while, Conte has ultimately settled for a 3-4-3 formation with a lone striker upfront.
After a superb spell with Chelsea’s youth ranks in the 2014/15 season, he was loaned out to Vitesse Arnhem for a season, after which he returned having scored 7 goals in 25 League games for the Dutch side. Not a bad tally given his age and that it was his first time away on loan in a foreign land.
But since then, his development seems to have stalled. With Michy Batshuayi ahead of him in the pecking order, Tammy Abraham shining brightly for Bristol City and Bertrand Traore too having a good season at Ajax, the youngster’s Chelsea future seems bleak.
