Dom Solanke was playing for England this time last year, but has not played a single minute of first-team football for Liverpool in 2018/19.
Instead, Jurgen Klopp has either deployed Roberto Firmino as his starting centre-forward or Daniel Sturridge, with Divock Origi and Solanke very much our third and fourth choice options.
Last season, Solanke got a few starts and actually made 27 appearances in total – so his current situation is not ideal – especially considering he’s just 21-years-old and needs to play so as to not stagnate.
The player himself though has spoken eloquently on the subject and suggested he isn’t worried.
“Jurgen is a great manager and he knows what he is doing, especially when he is bringing people through,” the youngster said, reported in the Star.
“You can see what he has done with Trent (Alexander-Arnold) and Joe (Gomez) at the moment and how far they have gone.
“They have been two vital players for us this season.
“I have known them for a few years now so I have seen them breakthrough and he definitely helped them.
“All the team are good (providing support and advice), really. Everyone has helped me.
“From the moment I got to Liverpool, they all made me feel welcome and I settled in quite quickly.
“Whenever they see someone they can give a hand to, they always will.”
For us, it seems pretty obvious that Solanke needs a January loan – preferably to a Premier League club who will actually give him opportunities.
A team like Newcastle could be perfect, although often when a club is fighting relegation they prefer not to gamble by giving chances to youngsters – especially youngsters who don’t actually belong to their clubs…
We can keep Origi on as our third-choice option, as it doesn’t look like the Belgian has a long-term future – but need Solanke to at least try and prove to us why Klopp initially rated him so highly.