Liverpool’s newest recruit Dominik Szoboszlai brings a wealth of excitement to the club. Hailed by manager Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool’s ‘present’ and ‘future’ in the middle of the pitch, the 22 year old Hungarian will certainly be looking to hit the ground running at Anfield. This article will analyse the potential role of Szoboszlai and the positive impact he will undoubtedly make in the coming season.
Position and play style
The former Red Bull Leipzig man likes to operate as an attacking midfielder, mainly in the half spaces on the right hand side of a midfield three. His excellent first touch and ball control allow him to progress the ball forward in tight areas, something which Klopp will look to utilise if he decides to deploy Szoboszlai on the right of a three. The midfielder’s sharp link up play and ball carrying ability will supplement Liverpool’s right side, usually occupied by Trent Alexander Arnold at right back and Mo Salah on the right wing. The club’s newest recruit could slot in perfectly to the right central midfield role, creating a strong right side of the starting eleven.
The midfielder’s shooting ability is also not to go unnoticed. His ability to score from range is something which Liverpool fans will look forward to seeing. Any Twitter or YouTube compilation of Szoboszlai’s highlights will show a plethora of world class long range goals, particularly from free kicks in which he adopts a ‘knuckleball’ technique. With players such as Alexander Arnold already encouraged to shoot from range for The Reds, fans will expect to see plenty of shots (and hopefully goals) from Szoboszlai in a red shirt.
A feature of Liverpool’s adapted system towards the end of the 2022/2023 season was the right central midfielder being deployed in a wider role as Alexander Arnold took up a central role to receive the ball when attacking. This wider role will suit Szoboszlai as he will be able to use his impressive crossing and long passing abilities, switching the play and overlapping Mo Salah to provide crosses into the box. The Hungarian ranked in the 95th percentile for passes attempted in the top 5 European Leagues last season, showing that he is not afraid to make a key pass attempt and with willing runners Luiz Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Salah, there will be opportunities for Szoboszlai to play the through balls he likes to attempt.
How will Szoboszlai adapt to life in Liverpool?
In Liverpool’s famous lactate test, or the ‘James Milner Award’ as Jurgen Klopp coined it on Tuesday, ‘Dom’ beat off competition from Cody Gakpo and Connor Bradley to win his group. The exercise, which simply revolves of running around the AXA training pitches at different, increasing speeds, proves a brutal test for players on their first day back for pre season. However, for Szoboszlai the drill looked easy. On the club’s ‘Inside Training’ YouTube video, Dom highlighted how his favourite part of the day was “the running”, while the video showed his teammates visibly shocked by his levels of fitness. In an ageing midfield, the fresh legs of the Hungarian, who is evidently a willing runner, will come as a welcome edition for Jurgen Klopp.
The midfielder has decided to take the famous number eight shirt at his new club after former occupier Naby Keita ended his tenure. The eight, once worn by club legend, captain and homegrown star Steven Gerrard, brings an expectation for Szoboszlai to fulfil his decision and contribute on the pitch. In his first interview with the club’s media team, Dom explained how he had a “tattoo from Steven Gerrard” and suggested that he was excited to wear the famous number. After the injury-affected spell of Naby Keita came to an end last season, Liverpool fans will be hoping that their new number eight can show more promise than the previous eight.
The signing is an exciting one and with more targets expected to arrive at Anfield, Liverpool fans will be looking forward to the new season. The club are scheduled to fly out to Germany for the first part of their pre season build up on Saturday which means fans will hopefully not have to wait too long to see the first glimpse of Szoboszlai on the pitch for the Reds.
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