Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has shared his thoughts on Dominic Solanke after the striker signed a new contract this week.
Solanke’s deal sees him stay with the Cherries until 2027, a one-year extension on his previous contract.
Iraola said: “It’s very good for the club”
“He’s a player that right now that’s performing really well and we hope he continues the same way”.
“It’s not easy to score goals in the Premier League, but I think he’s doing really well. I’m not so concerned about the goals he scores; I ask all the players if you are on the pitch and the team is doing well you have more chances to keep playing, and he helps us a lot in different aspects of the game”.
The one-time England international also announced the birth of his first child on his Instagram this week alongside it being his own birthday on Friday.
Iraola said: “It was a busy day for Dom with his child and a new contract and it was also his birthday so a lot of things to be happy of and to congratulate we hope he also has a good game on Sunday. Normally when you have a child they say good news is coming so let’s hope he can score on Sunday”.
The Cherries host Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, with both teams looking to pick up points after poor starts to the season.
Bournemouth will be without Adams, Scott, Marondes and Fredericks, all of which aren’t expected to return anytime soon. The visitors also have an extensive injury list with James, Badiashile, Nkunku, Fofana, Broja, Chalobah, Bettinelli, Chukwuemeka and Romeo Lavia, who twisted his ankle during the international break.
Andoni Iraola said: “They are a very good team. I think they deserve more points they’ve had a lot of possession a lot of chances, they haven’t scored as much as they’ve deserved, but we also think we can be powerful here at home”.
The Blues are top of the charts for average possession with 71% so far this season, they have also created the most chances, however they have only scored five goals.
When asked about playing on the back foot, Iraola said: ““I think we have to be ready because it’s not the way we want to play
There will be times that we don’t have the ball and have to defend lower and we have to improve there because the area we need to improve more for me is when we are defending low, we are conceding too many chances when we are defending low”.
A player who is likely to start for Chelsea this weekend is Nicolas Jackson, who failed a medical to join Bournemouth in January before completing a £32 million move to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
The Bournemouth manager said: “He’s a very very good player. He has the threat with his speed to attack the spaces but he’s very good also when he receives and turns and attacks one against one, I think he will provide not only the goals but a lot of chances and he will work well with the other forwards and I think he’s a really good player”.
You can keep up-to-date with Sunday’s game on Nerve Sport’s twitter account, with a full match report being posted at full-time.