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How Liverpool squeezed more than £40million out of Bournemouth for players in recent years, including Jordon Ibe and Dominic Solanke

We all know about Liverpool's habit of nicking players off Southampton - but a trade link between the Reds and another south coast club has developed in recent seasons.

Southampton's rivals, Bournemouth, have used Liverpool as a sort of feeder club - signing four Reds, to be exact, since the summer of 2016.

 Dominic Solanke and Jordon Ibe are two of the four players to join Bournemouth from Liverpool
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Dominic Solanke and Jordon Ibe are two of the four players to join Bournemouth from LiverpoolCredit: Getty Images - Getty

Jordon Ibe, Brad Smith, Dominic Solanke and Harry Wilson all swapped Merseyside for the south coast and ahead of Bournemouth's GameDay clash at Liverpool on Saturday, we took a look to see how all four have done since.


  • You can listen to full commentary of Liverpool vs Bournemouth LIVE on talkSPORT, kick-off 12:30pm

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Jordon Ibe

Many viewed the talented winger as the heir to Raheem Sterling's Anfield throne. Some Kopites insisted Ibe was a better player than Sterling, who left to join Manchester City in 2015, anyway.

Ibe had signed a long-term contract with Liverpool in 2015 but was off a year later when Bournemouth paid £15million for his services.

However, things really haven't worked out for the 24-year-old so far. He's scored just five times in nearly four years at the club.

This term he's only played 47 minutes of Premier League football and Ibe's career recently hit a very low point when he was handed a 16-month ban from driving for crashing his car into a coffee shop last July.

 What Ibe has done off the pitch has made more headlines this season
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What Ibe has done off the pitch has made more headlines this seasonCredit: Getty Images - Getty

Brad Smith

Only the die hard Liverpool fans will remember this guy.

Like Ibe, Smith joined Bournemouth in the summer of 2016 with a view to gaining more experience at a Premier League club. Bournemouth paid £6m for him.

Smith usually plays as a left-back but has not been able to establish himself in the Cherries' first-team, making a mere eleven appearances.

The Australian spent last season on loan at MLS side Seattle Sounders where he got a good number of appearances under his belt.

He joined Cardiff on loan for the rest of this season in January but has yet to play for them.

 Smith's contract at Bournemouth expires in May
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Smith's contract at Bournemouth expires in MayCredit: Getty Images - Getty

Dominic Solanke

Fresh off winning the player of the tournament award at the 2017 Under-20 World Cup, which England won, there was excitement from Liverpool fans when they got striker Solanke off Chelsea.

But he was constantly up against Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane for a starting spot so it was no surprise when he decided to leave for Bournemouth in January 2019.

They paid just over £19m for Solanke's services but Eddie Howe must be wondering where all that's gone as Solanke has really struggled. He's scored just one goal for Bournemouth so far, none in the Premier League.

The likes of Callum Wilson and Josh King have kept him out of the starting XI and it would be very surprising to see Solanke play any part in this match.

 Solanke has started twelve of Bournemouth's 28 Premier League matches this term
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Solanke has started twelve of Bournemouth's 28 Premier League matches this termCredit: Getty Images - Getty

Harry Wilson

Having joined Bournemouth on loan this season, Wilson has not completely turned his back on Liverpool.

The Welshman isn't eligible to play against his parent club this weekend.

But there's no doubt he's been the most successful at Bournemouth compared to Ibe, Smith and Solanke.

Wilson has six Premier League goals this term and has started 19 of the Cherries' 28 league matches this season so don't be surprised if he gets recalled to Anfield in the summer.

 Wilson's loan fee of £2.43m made him the cheapest transfer but he's been the best of the four
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Wilson's loan fee of £2.43m made him the cheapest transfer but he's been the best of the fourCredit: Getty Images - Getty


Saturday is GameDay on talkSPORT as we bring you THREE live Premier League commentaries across our network including Liverpool vs Bournemouth at 12:30pm

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