Chelsea keen to hold onto Dominic Solanke despite huge contract demands

Chelsea's FA Youth Cup-winning coach Joe Edwards is hopeful the club can resolve the ongoing contract dispute that has cast doubt over Dominic Solanke's future at Stamford Bridge, with Arsenal reportedly lurking in the background.

Solanke, 18, was part of the Chelsea team that won both the FA Youth Cup and Uefa Youth League last season, a feat the club have repeated this year. The striker, however, has spent the current campaign on loan in Netherlands at Vitesse Arnhem.

The teenager, who was also named England's youth player of the year in 2014, has just over 12 months remaining on his current Blues deal. His representatives are reportedly demanding wages of £50,000-a-week, seven times his current salary, along with assurances he will be given first-team opportunities.

According to The Sun, these developments have caught the attention of Arsenal, who are prepared to offer him the first-team opportunities he craves.

But Edwards insists Chelsea still hold Solanke in a very high regard and have a plan in place to ensure he can make an impact at the club.

"The relevant people working as part of Dom's development programme will sit down and discuss what is best for him once he has finished up at Vitesse Arnhem," said Edwards, The Guardian reports.

"But he's definitely one of the boys we've got high hopes for and, hopefully, whether it's this coming season or further down the line, he'll be one [who makes his mark at Chelsea]. I think there are several who can. And we saw with Marcus Rashford at Manchester United that you won't see properly what they can do until you put him in."

Solanke has made just one senior appearance for Chelsea, where he became the club's youngest player to appear in the Champions League after he was handed a European debut against NK Maribor in 2014.