Liverpool beat Arsenal to £3m deal for Chelsea striker

Liverpool are reported to have agreed a deal to sign Chelsea striker Dominic Solanke, who is out of contract this summer.

The Reds have long been linked with the England U20 star – and the Liverpool Echo reports a deal for the striker has now been agreed with Solanke set to become Jurgen Klopp’s first signing of what promises to be a busy summer.

Solanke was also being courted by Arsenal, RB Leipzig and Celtic, but the player has decided on a move to Anfield as the club prepare for the 2017/18 season and a return to the Champions League.

Although Solanke is out of contract at Stamford Bridge, the fee for the 19-year-old will be decided by tribunal.

The Echo claims that the Reds are “expecting to pay around £3million” for Solanke, given he is yet to make the first-team breakthrough at Stamford Bridge and going on the £6.5million Liverpool were ordered to pay Burnley for Danny Ings in 2015.

Solanke is currently away with England at the Under-20s World Cup, but the move will be sealed upon his return.

The striker made his debut for Chelsea during the 2014/15 campaign, with his Champions League appearance that year making him the club’s youngest-ever player in the competition.

Solanke was sent out on loan to Vitesse Arnhem during the 2015/16, where he netted seven times and assisted once in 25 Eredivisie games.

This past season, however, he remained at Chelsea to try and force his way into Antonio Conte’s plans – but after just one unused appearance on the substitutes bench in the Premier League, followed by two further bench spots in the EFL Cup, highlighted his plight and he has opted to move on.