DOM TAKES AIM
Cherries striker Solanke says there’s unfinished business... and he’s ready to show the Prem now
BOURNEMOUTH striker Dominic Solanke has declared that he has “unfinished business” in the Premier League.
Solanke played a key role in Bournemouth’s promotion back to the Premier League on Tuesday night at the Vitality Stadium, though it was fellow striker Kieffer Moore’s late goal which beat Nottingham Forest and clinched the second automatic promotion spot.
The ex-Chelsea and Liverpool striker, 24, may not have netted on Tuesday but his 29 league goals over the Championship season for Scott Parker’s team were crucial in securing the pass back to the top flight after two years’ absence for the club.
Solanke was part of the Cherries team that got relegated under Eddie Howe in 2020 (below, he and his teammates walk off despite winning at Everton on the last day of the season), and the former Chelsea academy graduate managed just three goals in 32 league appearances in that dismal, disheartening campaign.
Now though, Solanke, whose tally of 30 goals in all competitions this season is the most by a Cherries player since the legendary Ted MacDougall 40 years ago, feels he is in much better shape to take on the
Premier League next season.
He said: “The staff put a lot of faith in me here.
The way we play helped me.
I’ve had a really good season and feel confident.
There is unfinished business in the Premier League next year. The last time I was there I didn’t really do what I wanted to but I feel ready now.”
Newcastle, now managed by Howe, were linked with both Solanke and defender Lloyd Kelly should the Cherries have missed out on promotion this year.
Neither player will be leaving now, as Parker begins to look at ways of strengthening his side for the challenges ahead.
Solanke revealed: “After the win we had on Saturday it felt like a week.
“We wanted to go out and get it done.
“Forest had been on an amazing run but we know the quality we have. We wanted to do it a bit quicker, but on the night we managed to produce.”
As soon as he took over last summer, Parker got Solanke to put on more muscle in the gym and wanted him to be more aggressive and direct in his play – orders which the rangy striker has taken on board.
That, and a consistent run of games for almost the first time in his career, has enabled the striker to realise his potential.
Now the task is finally to crack the Premier League.