Impressive Stoke Performance Proves Dominic Solanke Deserves More First Team Opportunities

Much has been made over Liverpool's recruitment in the summer. 

The Reds failed to bring in key targets Virgil Van Dijk and Naby Keita (although the Leipzig midfielder will join next summer) and if they hadn't managed to sign key man Mohamed Salah, it would've been seen as a definite failure. 

However, the arrival of Salah for around £35m looks like the bargain of the season, with the Egyptian topping the scoring charts in the Premier League. But one piece of business that may seem to prove crucial in the long-run is the acquisition of former Chelsea man Dominic Solanke. 

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The 20-year-old has enjoyed a wonderful year for progression, winning the U20 World Cup with England, earning his first senior cap and making a handful of substitute performances for the Reds. 

Last night, his effort and patience in training was rewarded with a start against a physical Stoke side. The youngster got the nod ahead of Daniel Sturridge, Salah and Philippe Coutinho, with Klopp choosing to rest some of his more established stars. 

The forward was deployed in a central position and stuck to his task of holding the ball up and getting other players involved in the game. His ability to link up play was solid, but the forward struggled to make an individual impact up front.

While he failed to score after being put through one-on-one with Lee Grant, the former Chelsea youth star was instrumental in setting up Liverpool's opening goal, as his neat flick put Sadio Mane in on goal to chip the ball into the net. 

Klopp will be impressed with the striker's work rate, as he ran tirelessly to help his team out and create scoring situations. When the Reds had the ball in midfield the 20-year-old made numerous runs, giving the Stoke defence something to think about while he was on the field. Racking up 70 high-intensity sprints in the game shows that he worked hard for his team - something that Klopp has obviously drilled into the youngster. 

Going forward, Solanke will be hoping his performance has given Klopp something to think about when picking his starting lineup. The England international won't be starting every game this season, but judging from his performance against Stoke, he should feature more than he has done previously.

Solanke looks like he could be the future of Liverpool's attacking force, so he needs to be given as many chances to show his potential.