WHILE Kyle Walker-Peters and Dominic Solanke have not yet faced each other on the pitch this season, Saturday’s FA Cup contest will represent just the latest skirmish in a string of head-to-head battles between the pair in recent weeks.
The duo were born just five months apart in 1997, meaning their footballing paths crossed regularly as they developed from talented teenagers into fully-fledged Premier League pros.
There are many similarities to how both players progressed in the game.
Solanke came through the youth ranks at Chelsea, while Walker-Peters was developing across the capital at Tottenham.
But it was on international duty where the pair struck up a close bond. Featuring alongside one another for England at under-18s level through to under-21s, Walker-Peters and Solanke became roommates and shared success together, each playing the full 90 minutes as England won the FIFA Under-20 World Cup final against Venezuela in 2017.
Fast forward almost four years and both have made the move to the south coast. While Walker-Peters is continuing to excel in the Premier League with Saints, Solanke was unable to prevent Bournemouth from slipping into the Championship, suffering relegation last season.
However, that drop to the second tier has ironically worked well for the striker.
With Callum Wilson and Joshua King both departing Cherries, Solanke has established himself as the club’s first choice frontman, notching 11 goals this term, the joint highest tally of anyone in their squad.
He looks set to lead the line at Vitality Stadium on Saturday, as Cherries eye up sweet success against their neighbours with a semi-final Wembley showdown up for grabs for the winner.
And Walker-Peters says the prospect of facing one another has been a hot topic this week, in between battles on Grand Theft Auto!
Discussing his friendship with Solanke, Walker-Peters told the Daily Echo: “I speak to him every day. We game together so we’ve had a few words (about Saturday). It will be a good battle.
“Especially with the lockdown and everything, you can’t really leave your house, so gaming is a good way to pass some time and it’s quite enjoyable.
“We play Grand Theft Auto at the moment on the PC. It’s sort of like a roleplay which is quite cool, quite funny.”
Both players missed around a month of action recently due to injury.
“We got injured at a similar time. We stayed in contact, I was checking up on him and he was checking up on me,” said Walker-Peters.
“We talk all the time anyway, so it was a good way to pass the time.”
And who is the better gamer?
“It depends what game! Dom is very good though,” conceded the Saints star.
Asked what Solanke was like as a roommate with England, Walker-Peters added: “He’s quite a cool customer, quite chilled. Good banter.
“He’s not too messy actually! He’s a chilled guy. I think you really need to know him to really get his personality.”
While the upcoming international break will no doubt give the pair the chance to take each other on virtually again, focus this weekend will very much be on the pitch.
Life in the Premier League proved tough for Solanke, scoring just three goals in 63 top-flight appearances for Liverpool and Bournemouth.
However, the 23-year-old has found a new lease of life as a regular starter in the Championship. Only Junior Stanislas, who will miss this weekend’s cup tie through injury, has scored as many goals as Solanke for seventh-placed Cherries this campaign.
“He’s doing well this season,” said Walker-Peters.
“He got his 11th goal on the weekend, which is good for him and good for his confidence. If he plays against us, we’ll have to watch out for him because he’s confident at the moment.
“On the flip side, we’ve got Che Adams who has scored a few goals recently and he’s in quite fine form. It’s going to be a good battle.”
Asked if he sees similarities in the way Adams and Solanke play, Walker-Peters added: “They’ve got similar qualities. Both really strong and quick.
“They’re both finding their feet, which is great for both of them and it’s hard anyway in the Premier League, every game you go into is really tough. So to get the goals that they’re getting shows their quality.”
Bournemouth are the only Championship side left in this season’s FA Cup. Despite Saints’ recent woes in the Premier League, losing 10 of their past 12 matches, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men head to Vitality Stadium as overwhelming favourites to progress. They have already knocked out Arsenal and Wolves, as well as lower league Shrewsbury.
Cherries have had a kinder run, seeing off Oldham and Crawley before an impressive victory at Burnley to reach the last eight for just the second time in their history.
Asked how much of an opportunity Saints view this tie, Walker-Peters said: “You say it’s a favourable draw, but anything can happen in one game.
“I think it will be tough, so we need to approach the game right, approach it as we approach any other game and take it as serious as we can.
“It’s an opportunity to do something special and if we progress, anything can happen in two games. Who knows, maybe we can create some history.”
Talking of history, Walker-Peters’s only goal in professional football to date also came in this competition, netting in a 6-1 victory over Rochdale at Wembley, a stadium Spurs used as their temporary home during the 2017-18 campaign.
“In the freezing cold snow I remember,” said the defender, recalling his strike.
“Great memory. Hopefully I can get another goal in the competition!"
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