Dominic Solanke has been told to drop his £50k wage demands, or face rotting in the Chelsea youth squads next season, The Times reports.
The 18-year-old striker, who has spent this season on loan at Dutch outfit Vitesse Arnhem, has earned many plaudits at Stamford Bridge over the last few years due to his prolific form for the U18s, but the Englishman has only made one substitute appearance for the Blues’ first team.
Now the two-time FA Youth Cup winner is demanding a bumper new contract worth £2.5m per year upon his return to London in the summer.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is a notoriously tough negotiator and his ruthless obligation to let go of club captain John Terry at the end of the season following a hugely successful 18-year spell implies that young Solanke might be fighting a losing battle with regards to his hefty new wage demands and he must now choose his next move carefully as to avoid becoming the first casualty of incoming boss Antonio Conte’s tenure, as the Italian prepares for a huge clearout.
News of this disagreement has reached the mailboxes of every big club in Europe and Solanke wouldn’t have any shortage of potential suitors to choose from should his love affair with his boyhood club come to an abrupt halt, with the likes of Arsenal said to be very interested in the England U19 international’s services.
Solanke joined the club in 2004 as a six-year-old, rising through the ranks before becoming the main man in the 2013/14 FA Youth Cup-winning side, scoring the winner in the dramatic 7-6 aggregate win over rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge.
A year later, the Basingstoke-born youngster took his game to new heights, scoring 12 goals in nine games as Chelsea won their first UEFA Youth League trophy, while helping the Blues to a second successive FA Youth Cup. Forming a devastating partnership with fellow striker Tammy Abraham, Solanke scored an incredible 41 goals in the 2014/15 season, while also making his Chelsea debut in the 6-0 Champions League group stage win over Maribor. Solanke also scored the only goal of the game in the Premier League champions’ post-season friendly in Thailand All-Stars.
In 2015, it was announced that Solanke would join fellow Blues youngsters Izzy Brown, Nathan, Danilo Pantic and Lewis Baker in Arnhem, at Dutch side Vitesse. After making his debut in the 2-0 defeat to Feyenoord, he scored his first ever professional goal in a 4-1 rout of Cambuur Leeuwarden at the Gelredome. He now has seven in his last 24 appearances.
