Eddie Howe praises Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke in his morning press conference

Eddie Howe took the time out of fielding questions about Callum Wilson's boob and Dan Ashworth's future to speak about a player from his past.

In 2019 Eddie Howe took Dominic Solanke to Bournemouth from Liverpool for £19million, a record transfer fee for the Cherries.

Unfortunately for Eddie Howe, that was also the season that saw Bournemouth relegated from the Premier League which ultimately led to his departure from the club.

The Solanke signing has often been used as a stick with which to beat Eddie Howe

A lot of people pointed the finger towards the signing of Solanke as a big reason for Bournemouth's fall from grace as the then 21-year-old striker failed to find any kind of form after the move.

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In fact, it seems to have taken Solanke until this season to show any of the promise he showed as a young Chelsea striker - form that caught the eye of Liverpool - but the 26-year-old is once again on the goal trail and Eddie Howe couldn't be prouder, taking time in his press conference to sing his praises (via The Chronicle).

Obviously, Howe was never going to say he made a mistake in signing Solanke, so the fact that he's now coming good almost justifies his almost five-year-old decision.

"I'm pleased for Dom. He played well against us in the first game but I'm pleased for him. He had a tough start at Bournemouth and had to be patient. It's no surprise to me that he's doing well.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda

Newcastle were of course linked with a move for Dominic Solanke in the January transfer window, but that seemed to be more paper talk than anything concrete.

Although given our current situation, I'm sure there are plenty of us who now wish something had happened on that front given our current lack of strikers.

Let's just hope that spot of praise isn't the encouragement Solanke needed to put in a top display on Saturday.