Vitesse manager Peter Bosz has been hinting for about a month now that he wants to bring a new striker, to replace the production lost when Bertrand Traoré returned to Chelsea. Since Vitesse don't have much money but do have a partnership with Chelsea, he had been hoping we could provide him with one. Today, it looks we have finally provided him with an answer, and that answer looks like one Dominic Solanke.
Dominic Solanke traint mee bij #Vitesse: http://t.co/vxq2Mi3wPO pic.twitter.com/h2xWruNU9r
— Vitesse (@MijnVitesse) August 4, 2015
Solanke, who shared the club golden boot with fellow 17-year-old Tammy Abraham last season with 41 goals, starts training with the Eredivisie side today, joining fellow loanees Lewis Baker, Izzy Brown, Nathan, and Danilo Pantic. One step closer to a true Chelsea B!
While the loan is not yet confirmed, it does represent a huge change in direction from what had been hinted at before. Here's Jose back at the end of April:
"Next year [Solanke] has two ways to go. For me it would be a big mistake for him to go on loan to another team in England or in Europe."
"Staying at Chelsea, training with the first team, having pre-season with the first team, sometimes covering the main strikers, and playing every week again for the Under-21s and the Under-18s - he would probably never need to go out on loan. He can just go step by step here, and in a couple of years [he will be a] first team player."
-Jose Mourinho; source: Chelsea FC
Well then. Another one to file under player development is never easy.
Solanke's loan does mean that Tammy Abraham (who's scored in all six of his preseason matches so far) will most likely handle an increased workload at under-21 level this coming season. So that's a plus. And Vitesse do need a striker. So there's every chance for Solanke, who turns 18 in about a month, to become a rousing success in the Eredivisie already.
A win-win?