The England national team is blaming Liverpool for wasting away the talent of attacker Dominic Solanke.
Solanke is highly regarded within the England set-up, representing his country at every level from Under-16s to the senior side. The forward was a key part of the team that won the 2014 Under-17 European Championship, won the Golden Ball award for best player at the 2017 Under-20 World Cup and made his senior debut in November of that same year.
According to The Daily Telegraph, England is ‘worried’ that a lack of opportunities at Liverpool ‘could damage his hopes of an international future’. Solanke has not yet made a single matchday squad for the Premier League leaders, although Jurgen Klopp has previously said that he “will have a part to play”.
“I’m really pleased with Dom but I’m also a little bit worried about him because he is not getting the minutes and not getting the games,” The England Under-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd admitted. I am happy on the pitch picking the best players, but for the good of England and for the good of British football it would be nicer if we had more players playing, certainly better for us and for them. Our players have proved they can do it at international level but not as many of them as there should be are getting the opportunity to do that in the Premier League.
“There is no real rhyme or reason but a lot of the time, if the players are playing, it helps them get into the under-21 team. We have got some fantastic talent but a lot of them haven’t had game-time. Young players now are thinking of playing abroad first.
“I admire that for many reasons, I think it is great they want to learn different languages and experience different cultures and different ways of playing but the fact they have got to go abroad to play is a real red flag for the authorities. They will be thinking: ‘Hang on a minute, why is that happening?’”
