Dominik Szoboszlai: A Year On from Liverpool Switch, What’s Next?
Over a year has passed since Liverpool broke the bank to bring Dominik Szoboszlai to Anfield from Leipzig in a record-breaking £70 million transfer fee. The Hungarian midfielder is still just 23 years old, with plenty of time left on his long-term contract. Now, as the Reds embark on a new era under Arne Slot, it’s the perfect time to examine how the move looks today and what Liverpool can expect from Szoboszlai going forward.
A Strong Start to His Reds Tenure
Szoboszlai burst onto the scene for Liverpool with a string of impressive performances to start his Premier League career. In fact, over his first nine matches for the club in all competitions, he registered a FotMob match rating below 7.0 just once. His full-pitch impact was noticed and appreciated by many fans, although his lack of production in terms of goals and assists wasn’t entirely his fault.
Liverpool’s new era under Arne Slot brings fresh hope for Szoboszlai’s development
Through nine Premier League appearances for the club, he had created a team-high 21 chances, the most of any Liverpool player in their first nine league outings in the past two decades. This statistics highlighted his dynamic and creative influences on the pitch.
Injuries Strike in the Winter
Szoboszlai suffered a hamstring injury in early January, which would keep him out for a couple of weeks. Shortly after he returned, he re-aggravated the injury and had to miss some more time. He returned in March during a very challenging stretch for the club and didn’t play poorly per se, but did miss some key chances and failed to help right the ship.
Injuries hindered Szoboszlai’s progress in his first season at Liverpool
A Bright Future Ahead
Minutes on the wing could be available, and given the dynamic nature of Arne Slot’s system, Szoboszlai could be a better fit for the role than say, Díaz or Núñez. A new perspective is sometimes all that is needed, however. Slot could see Szoboszlai’s strengths and value in a way Klopp never did, and make more of a point of rotating him into the outside spots. Providing extra rest for other forwards wouldn’t be a bad side effect of this strategy either.
“It’s a crowded squad at Anfield, and when a player like Szoboszlai isn’t at his very best, it’s tough to crack the XI consistently.”
International performances showcased Szoboszlai’s quality
As the season unfolded, it became clear that the wear and tear of a packed schedule had taken its toll on Szoboszlai, who was not quite as impactful down the stretch as he was early on. This led to him falling out of Jürgen Klopp’s favor over the final days of the legendary gaffer’s Liverpool career.
With the arrival of Arne Slot, a new era of optimism surrounds Anfield, and Szoboszlai’s dynamic abilities could be the key to unlocking his true potential on the pitch.
