Dominic Solanke

Chelsea

Early career

Solanke started his career with Chelsea in 2004 in their under-eight team. During the 2013–14 season, Solanke scored 20 goals in 25 appearances for the under-18 team. On 6 May 2014, he scored two late goals as Chelsea came from two goals down to beat local rivals Fulham 7–6 on aggregate in the FA Youth Cup Final. On 29 July 2014, 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.

2014–15 season

Solanke signed his first professional contract with Chelsea in September 2014. Due to the injury of Diego Costa, Solanke was named on the bench for a Premier League match against Crystal Palace on 18 October 2014. Three days later, he made his first-team debut as a substitute for Oscar in the 73rd minute of a 6–0 win over NK Maribor in the UEFA Champions League. This made him the youngest player to debut in the UEFA Champions League for Chelsea, later eclipsed by Reggie Walsh in October 2025. He finished as top scorer in the group stages of the UEFA Youth League after scoring a hat-trick in the final group stage match against Sporting CP. On 10 April 2015, Solanke scored two goals in the semi-final of the 2014–15 UEFA Youth League against Roma to send Chelsea into the final. He scored in the 3–2 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Youth League final,…

Solanke has represented England at all youth levels. In May 2014, Solanke was part of the under-17 team that won the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He was the tournament's joint top scorer with four goals in four appearances, a brace against Turkey, a goal in the semi-final secured a place in the final, and England's goal in the final. In January 2015, Solanke was named the England Men's Youth Player of the Year for 2014. In March 2015, Solanke collected his trophy and was invited to train with the senior England squad. He was named in the under-19 squad for the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Solanke was named in the under-20 squad for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He scored four goals in the tournament; in the quarter-final, he scored the only goal against Mexico as England advanced into the semi-final, and scored twice in the semi-final as England beat Italy 3–1 to reach the final. Solanke started as England beat Venezuela 1–0 in the final. Solanke was awarded the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament. Solanke was called up by the senior team for the first time in November 2017 for a friendly against Brazil at Wembley. He came on as a 75th-minute substitute in a 0–0 draw. On 27 May 2019, Solanke was included in England's 23-man squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Due to his impressive form in the 2023–24 season, there were calls for Solanke to be included in England's squad for UEFA Euro 2024, but Gareth Southgate did not…

Solanke primarily plays as a striker, although can also operate as either an attacking midfielder or a winger. Former Chelsea striker Tore André Flo has said that Solanke "works really hard", has "got very good physique" and "a great touch on the ball". He went on to say: "He's quick but often what impresses me the most is when he looks like he's lost the ball, he somehow manages to get out with the ball, no matter how tight the situation is or how difficult it looks".

Solanke was born in Reading, Berkshire, to a Nigerian Yoruba father and an English mother. He attended Brighton Hill Community School in Basingstoke.