Arsenal crestfallen, Newcastle blocked from move as Prem rivals take hard-line stance over 13-goal striker
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola alongside star striker Dominic Solanke
Arsenal look set to miss out on another striker target after a Premier League rival has taken a hard-line stance over letting a player leave in January who has also been heavily linked with Newcastle.
Both the Gunners and Magpies have been strongly tipped to bring in a new No.9 in the winter window, although it’s Mikel Arteta who is looking to trump any rivals given his side’s struggles to convert chances in games when dominating.
Sunday’s FA Cup exit at the hands of Liverpool was the latest example of that as Arsenal went down to a 2-0 defeat after spurning some glorious opportunities to break the deadlock.
That was also the case in the Premier League losses to Fulham and West Ham, and there is a real fear that the lack of clinical N0.9 could completely derail the club’s title hopes.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney remains a top target, although we revealed recently that the England forward is set to sign a new deal with the Bees that is likely to include an £80million release clause.
That will almost certainly rule Arsenal out of a move, this month anyway, for a player who has not played since last May after being suspended for breaching the Football Association’s betting rules.
And, knowing Brentford’s reluctance to part company with their talisman, has forced the north London club to switch their focus to other targets instead.
One of those has been Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke, who has been one of the top strikers in the Premier League this season.
The former Liverpool man has netted 13 goals in 20 games in all competitions, having rebuilt his career on the south coast after his struggles at Anfield.
The Cherries have been one of the form teams in the Premier League over the past month and much of that has been to do with the outstanding form of Solanke.
Indeed, his goals and all-round performances as a No.9 have also seen Tottenham and Newcastle sit up and take notice.
However, the Spurs ship appears to have flown after they signed Timo Werner on loan from RB Leipzig with a view to a permanent move, with the former Chelsea able to play all three forward positions in Ange Postecoglou’s attacking formation.
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Solanke going nowhere in January
But a report on Wednesday revealed Newcastle’s intention to try and bring Solanke to St James’ Park. That’s despite Eddie Howe already having two excellent strikers on his books already in Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak.
However, all the speculation appears to count for nothing after TEAMtalk have been told that Bournemouth have zero intention parting with Solanke this month.
Andoni Iraola has insisted on keeping the attacker as the Cherries look to continue on their recent impressive run and have a strong second half of the campaign.
The summer could be a different proposition, given how Solanke continues to fair, but a move in January is a complete no-no as far as Bournemouth are concerned.
