DOMINIC Solanke is set to join the growing list of dads in Cherries’ dressing room, announcing he and his fiancée are expecting a baby later this year.

Solanke, 25, shared the news to his 571,000 Instagram followers on Friday, with four pictures of him and his partner Erica, alongside the caption: “We can’t wait to meet our new addition to the family.”

The Cherries striker and one-time England international also used social media to announce his proposal to Erica in November of last year.

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, Solanke said: “We're expecting a baby, me and my partner.

“We put it out there (on Friday), so we've had a lot of nice messages. I'm excited.

“The 20 weeks, that was kind of our marker.

“Obviously people at the club and close friends knew, but after 20 weeks, we thought it was good to let everyone know. Pretty hard to hide it after that!”

Born in Reading, Solanke came through Chelsea’s academy before joining Liverpool in 2017. He then switched to Cherries in January 2019 and has scored 56 goals in 171 appearances.

One of the first names on the team sheet, Solanke signed a contract extension last summer, which runs until June 2026.

He will join the growing list of new fathers in Cherries’ dressing room, with the likes of Lewis Cook and Jack Stephens having become dads for the first time during this season.

Neto, Adam Smith, Jefferson Lerma, Joe Rothwell and Junior Stanislas also all have children, giving Solanke plenty of close colleagues to turn to in the weeks and months ahead.

“Of course, obviously there's quite a few dads in the changing room already,” said Solanke.

“A couple have just had (babies) recently, so there's a lot of people that I can talk to and get advice.

“They keep telling me there will be a lot of sleepless nights!”