Solanke’s Palace move stalls as striker struggles for fitness

Dominic Solanke’s loan move to Crystal Palace appears to have fallen through in the final hour over concerns around the striker’s fitness.

The 21-year-old was a well-known target for Palace manager Roy Hodgson as the winter transfer window approached, with rumours circulating that the forward had even undergone a medical prior to the new year.

Dominic Solanke has had a medical with Crystal Palace ahead of his loan move according to MailSport.

— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) December 30, 2018

Solanke – who is yet to feature this season for Liverpool – was as short as 1/10 with some bookmakers earlier today to move to South London but Hodgson will now set his sights on a striker who is available to play straight away, with Solanke ruled out in recent weeks due to “muscle problems”.

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp still remains keen to ship the Englishman out on loan in January though and Solanke is not short of suitors, with both Huddersfield and Brighton keen to bolster their attacking options.

Aside from Premier League interest, Bundesliga side Schalke, as well as Steven Gerrard’s Rangers, appear keen to attract the forward to join their ranks and the allure of a Scottish Premiership title charge might appeal most to Solanke.

Schalke’s pulling power, however, is the recent success of other young English talents in the Bundesliga such as Jadon Sancho, who has an incredible six goals and seven assists in just 17 games for Dortmund this season.

This year the Sancho skill show reached its peak. Let’s go through his top flicks and tricks of 2018. 🧙‍♂️⚽️🇬🇧@Sanchooo10 vs. Freiburg pic.twitter.com/dr9STOyAGN

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) December 30, 2018

Solanke looks sure to be on the move this season and even considering Palace’s reluctance to proceed with a loan move, the race for the 21-year-old appears to be heating up.