Liverpool are reportedly set to face some more difficult questions, this time over the signing of youngster Dominic Solanke from Chelsea earlier this month.
The Reds have already been in hot water this summer as they were forced to apologise and withdraw their interest in Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk after being accused by the Saints of making an illegal approach for the Dutch international.
Now, it’s Chelsea who reportedly have an issue, as according to The Sun, the transfer for Solanke will go to a tribunal to work out a compensation fee, but that could lead to Liverpool’s transfer work being scrutinised again.
It’s claimed that the Blues are angry because out-of-contract players are only allowed to speak with other domestic clubs after the third week of May, but the initial reports that Solanke would leave Stamford Bridge for Anfield surfaced in February.
Further, the report notes that the 19-year-old bid farewell to his Chelsea teammates before the end of the season, and so now questions are being asked as to when the agreement with Liverpool was reached.
Liverpool announced on May 30 that personal terms had been agreed upon and that they would be signing Solanke, and so that timeline will be under the spotlight when the tribunal is held, as per the Sun.
At this stage, it’s worth noting that Liverpool have not been charged in any way or come under pressure from the Premier League or the FA.
However, what this does do at this stage is call into question their transfer dealings again. Combine the Van Dijk embarrassment with the fact that the club was fined £100,000 and banned from signing academy players from English clubs for two years last season, as noted in the report, this is not what they want to hear as it really does ask some serious questions about the way in which they conduct their transfer business.