Dominic Solanke or Ollie Watkins? Joe Cole and Aaron McLean divided on Bournemouth striker's Euro 2024 'dream'

In-form Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke said he "dreams" of being named in England’s Euro 2024 squad, but the TNT Sports experts were divided on who should go to Germany.

Solanke struck his 13th Premier League goal of the season in a 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Thursday, live on TNT Sports.

The Cherries star is the top-scoring Englishman in the top-flight this season and his latest strike came under the watching gaze of England assistant manager Steve Holland at the London Stadium.

Solanke earned his one and only England cap from the bench in a friendly against Brazil in 2017, but he said after the game that he’s hopeful his form can catch the eye of Gareth Southgate and his staff once more.

“Everyone wants to play for England, I think that’s everyone’s dream,” Solanke told TNT Sports.

“There is the Euros in the summer, and everyone would want to be there. I just need to carry on doing what I’m doing for the club, scoring as many goals as I can, and who knows?

“There’s a camp soon, I’ll keep doing what I can do and hopefully I’ll be there.”

TNT Sports pundits Joe Cole and Aaron McLean debated the striker selection, with the likes of Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, Newcastle’s Callum Wilson and Ivan Toney of Brentford all vying for a squad place alongside captain Harry Kne.

Asked who he would take if he had to choose between Watkins and Solanke, Cole said: “They both bring goals, finishing, it’s a really tough question…I’m going to go with Dominic Solanke because he’s standing over there!”

McLean disagreed with the former England midfielder, pointing to Watkins’ versatility as an extra string to his bow.

“I would probably go Ollie Watkins. I think he can play a number of different positions. You can put him wider. I think he’s probably a little bit more flexible in terms of his positioning and he’s still scoring goals,” McLean said.

“There’s still a long way to go between now and the Euros. You have to maintain that form throughout the season. Whoever gets to that point and is top in terms of goalscoring, then they’ve got a question to be asked.”

Squad selection is far from a simple task, with a limited number of spaces available for strikers in Southgate’s eventual 23-man squad for the tournament in Germany.

And Cole underlined the complexity of the decision facing Southgate when it comes to narrowing down his striker selection.

“It’s a unique role because Harry Kane is clearly the number one, he will start. If Kane has got two legs and two arms come the Euros, he’s going to start the game,” Cole said.

“So the person who is going to be the understudy - and maybe you take a third striker - you have to consider game situations.

“Maybe we’re chasing the game in a quarter-final and we’re having possession of the ball, or maybe we’ve gone down to 10 men so you need someone who can run in.

“All these attributes that Gareth will have to sit down with his team and say, ‘maybe Ollie Watkins can do this better, maybe Callum Wilson can do this better’, they will be considering everything. Penalties. There is so much to consider.

“It’s a unique position to choose because Harry is the number one. And character as well. Who’s going to want to sit there for four weeks and sniff maybe 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there? Who has got that mindset who can do that?

“It’s a tough one. But he [Solanke] is in the running for sure. If he keeps playing like that, I’d like to see him get a chance. When players are playing well, give them a chance in an England shirt because he deserves it.”

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