Tony Cascarino believes Dominic Solanke is primed for a significant move to a major club like Tottenham or Chelsea. However, the pundit expressed doubts that either London club would be willing to meet the substantial release clause in the striker’s contract.
Could Tottenham Move for Dominic Solanke?
Over the past year, Solanke has shown remarkable improvement, reaching new heights since Andoni Iraola took over at Bournemouth. The Cherries have adopted an aggressive, forward-thinking approach under the Spanish coach, which has greatly benefited Solanke. The striker concluded the 2023-24 season with an impressive 21 goals across all competitions.
The 26-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to Tottenham. Reports from Football Insider at the start of last week indicated that Ange Postecoglou’s team had expressed a ‘concrete interest’ in securing Solanke this summer.
Tottenham is keen to fill the void left by Harry Kane’s departure last summer. Furthermore, TBR Football recently reported that Solanke’s contract includes a release clause of approximately £65 million, which can only be activated by a few clubs: Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Liverpool.
Solanke Would Be a Better Fit for Chelsea than Spurs
Despite the interest, Cascarino doubts whether any of these clubs would be willing to activate the England international’s release clause after just one standout season. When asked which club Solanke might join this summer, Cascarino shared his thoughts on talkSPORT on June 8, 2024:
“I would probably, I am showing my bias here, probably slightly Chelsea. I am not sure a club will pay £65 million for Dominic Solanke. He had a terrific season, you have had an outstanding season. But there’s a much bigger picture there.
“If you look over his career in total, Dominic has improved. He scored goals in the Championship, but in his younger days, he didn’t really make it at Liverpool—they let him go because they didn’t think he was good enough.
“I still think it’s a lot of money for someone who, if he had gone in and had two or three seasons scoring huge amounts like Ollie Watkins, who has increased his goal tally regularly year by year, then it would be different. I don’t know if we just saw a standout season by Solanke there.
“I’m not saying he is not a really good player because he has improved a hell of a lot, and fair play to him for that. But would I want to pay £65 million? I am not sure Spurs or Chelsea would want to go that deep.”
Given the Premier League’s decision to strictly implement Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR), spending is expected to decrease across the division this summer.
This makes it highly unlikely that any club would be willing to activate the £65 million release clause. However, Bournemouth might be tempted to accept an offer in the £50 million range for the striker.
