IT IS not unusual for a manager to make subjective claims about a star player after a sublime performance.

Scott Parker was full of praise for Dominic Solanke after Cherries’ top goalscorer put Huddersfield to the sword in a comfortable 3-0 win away in Yorkshire.

The former Chelsea and Liverpool striker was involved in all three goals, setting up Jaidon Anthony’s opener, before his deflected strike fell kindly to Jefferson Lerma for Cherries’ second.

Solanke himself got in on the act immediately after the restart, rounding off a lovely team move with a deft backheel past Terriers ‘keeper Lee Nicholls.

He could have had at least two if his header in the first-half was an inch lower, with an effort from a Ryan Christie free-kick smacking the crossbar before the opening goal.

After the game, Solanke’s head coach repeated claims he had made in previous interviews.

Pound-for-pound, Parker does not believe that there is a similar striker in the Championship – or even the Premier League.

Although he was prompted, Parker commented after Saturday’s game: “I thought he was incredible.

"I'd be very reluctant to single out anyone because honestly, I thought to a man that, Lewis Cook, Billing coming back in, Adam Smith, I don't want to just call out individuals, but you asked me a question regarding Dom.

“I thought his all-around play today - his goals are there for everyone to see.

“He's pivotal for us in that sense.

“Can put the ball in the net. He's always at the end of things when we want to finish and put the ball in the net and he does that.

“But his all-round game today. He's a target in terms of a platform for us when we have to go long, a little bit.

“His work ethic, I don't think there's a nine out there, to be honest – and I include the Premier League, who puts in the numbers and puts in the graft and the work in games that Dom does.

“He was fully worthy of his goal, fully worthy of the goals he scored this year. And he’s going to be pivotal for the next ten for us.”

A bold claim, and perhaps slightly unsubstantiated.

However, there is merit to the argument – and of course, Parker does not have much free-time to sit down and draw comparisons between Solanke and other strikers in depth.

That’s not to say it is easy to find examples that disprove Parker’s argument. In fact, there is only one player that comes close to both the numbers and style of play of Solanke.

The hallmarks of Solanke’s game are shared by none other than England and Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane.

Whilst the pair certainly are not goal-shy by any definition, other strikers may be more clinical, more goal-oriented than the duo, but in terms of their overall production for their sides, no one comes close.

It is not uncommon to see Kane and Solanke drop extremely deep in order to get on the ball, as evidenced by this touch map of both strikers’ last games (Solanke v Huddersfield, Kane v West Ham).

Bournemouth Echo: Source: WhoScored.comSource: WhoScored.com

Not only do the pair cover large distances whilst their sides have possession, but they are usually the first players to press high in order to try and win the ball back when it is lost.

Phillip Billing inadvertently revealed in an interview with BBC Radio Solent that he and Solanke frequently top the charts in terms of distance travelled for Cherries, with the pair routinely covering 12 kilometres a game.

Both are deeply involved in their side’s overall attacking play, rather than being goal poachers who remain anonymous until they are required to put the finishing touches on a move.

But goalscoring certainly isn’t a weakness for either striker, with Solanke sitting second in the Championship scoring charts, behind the unprecedented form of Fulham’s Aleksandr Mitrovic.

When Parker first made reference to his belief that there were no strikers in England’s top two tiers with the “physical numbers” to match Solanke, there was derision from fans of his former club, Fulham.

And whilst Parker was unable to get a tune out of the Serbian at Craven Cottage, he certainly has found a striker better suited for his style of play in the form of Solanke.

The patient passing play dubbed “Parkerball” requires the frontman to be well involved in all facets of attacking play, being able to combine hold-up play with the right runs and passes.

Like Kane, Solanke is adept playing with his back to goal, and as Parker noted, equally comfortable with operating as a focal point when Cherries switch things up and go more direct.

So whilst there perhaps is someone who puts in the numbers and hard-work to match Solanke, the comparison is certainly not an insult to Cherries’ leading man.

Only time will tell if the comparison will be furthered by Solanke in the Premier League, but if the 24-year-old continues his form, it feels like only a matter of when, not if.