Dominic Szoboszlai has been in the spotlight since his move from RB Leipzig, but it wasn’t the role many expected when he arrived at Liverpool. Dominik Soboslay is the best midfielder in the Premier League.
That claim is questionable, especially given recent disappointing performances at Kenilworth Road.
It’s hard to argue with his contribution to Liverpool this season. Among the players on the field, they played the most minutes, made the most progressive passes, had the most shot attempts and had the most opposing passes blocked.
Without “good players, good process” Liverpool would have been unbeaten and second in the league. The 23-year-old has a lot to contribute. The versatile midfielder’s role was key in the summer transfer window, but few clubs were willing to let Szoboszlai go.
Players who left a deep impression on Liverpool, such as Mason Mount, Moises Caicedo and Mateus Nunez, received an excellent response in the Premier League before the transfer.
What did Liverpool see in Szoboslai? Why have so few other people seen it? And how well did it go? He has been widely deployed as part of a 4-2-2-2 formation, usually as a hybrid attacking/midfielder.
He has also been tested in a deeper midfield role for both club and country.A player with Szoboslai vision and technical quality has become a top 10 player who has provided big moments both on and off the game.
Due to the speed and physical nature of the modern game, these types of players are now largely extinct.However, when we examined the Hungarian closely, it became clear that he has the physical tools and work ethic to play a bigger role on a box-to-box basis.
This meant he could show his qualities as a number 8 because he was always involved in the game.
A look at Szoboslai FBref numbers from last season as part of Liverpool’s scouting report shows that the evidence in our eyes is backed up. Not only is the striker excellent, but his defensive skills such as tackling and blocking are also positive among other attacking midfielders.
It is clear that Szoboslai had all the tools in his hands. But with little time spent making the most of these tools, imagining him as a Premier League number eight required some creative thinking.
Whether it was Jurgen Klopp, Jörg Schmadtke or Scout’s apprentice Jenny, someone in Liverpool had the imagination to see if Szoboslai could be the right fit.
