Solanke on his debut against NK Maribor
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Personal information | |||
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Full name | Dominic Ayodele Solanke-Mitchell | ||
Date of birth | 14 September 1997 | ||
Place of birth | Basingstoke, England | ||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
Playing position | Forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current team
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Chelsea | ||
Number | 41 | ||
Youth career | |||
2004–2015 | Chelsea | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014– | Chelsea | 0 | (0) |
2015–2016 | → Vitesse (loan) | 25 | (7) |
National team‡ | |||
2012–2013 | England U16 | 6 | (1) |
2013–2014 | England U17 | 14 | (11) |
2014–2015 | England U18 | 7 | (3) |
2015–2016 | England U19 | 10 | (3) |
2016– | England U20 | 8 | (6) |
2015– | England U21 | 3 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:46, 1 May 2016 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:18, 29 March 2017 (UTC) |
Dominic Ayodele "Dom" Solanke-Mitchell (born 14 September 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays for Chelsea. Although Solanke prefers playing as a striker, he can also play as a winger on either side and as an attacking midfielder. He has represented England up to under-21 level.
During the 2013–14 season, Solanke scored 20 goals in 25 games for Chelsea under-18s. On 6 May 2014, he scored two late goals as Cheslea came from two goals down to beat local rivals Fulham 7-6 on aggregate in the FA Youth Cup Final. On 29 July, José Mourinho stated a belief that he should blame himself were Solanke not to become a senior England international under his management, and indicated that the player would train with the first-team squad during the 2014–15 season.
Due to the injury of Diego Costa, on 18 October 2014, Solanke was named on the bench for a Premier League match against Crystal Palace. Later the same week, on 21 October, he made his professional debut as a substitute for Oscar in the 73rd minute of a 6–0 win over NK Maribor in the Champions League. This made him the youngest player to debut in the Champions League for Chelsea.
At youth level, Solanke continued to score at a prolific rate scoring 15 goals in 16 games before Christmas and finishing as top scorer in the group stages of the UEFA Youth League after a hat trick in the final group stage match against Sporting CP. On 10 April 2015, Solanke scored a brace in the semifinal of the 2014–15 UEFA Youth League against A.S. Roma to send Chelsea into the final. Solanke scored again against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Youth league final ending the tournament with 12 goals in 9 games as Chelsea won the title. On 20 April, Solanke scored a late goal to give his side a 3–1 win in the first leg of the FA Youth Cup final against Manchester City. With this goal, Solanke reached the 35-goal mark this season. On 7 May, Solanke reached 41 goals for the season after scoring a hat-trick in a 4-3 victory over Liverpool U21.