Dominik Szoboszlai is Liverpool's best signing in years
Dominik Szoboszlai could transform the way Jurgen Klopp's side play, offering alternative options to the German manager
Dominik Szoboszlai has been officially unveiled as a Liverpool player, costing the Reds £60 million to become their fourth most expensive star in history.
A winger by trade while at RB Leipzig, question marks remain over where the Hungarian will play for Jurgen Klopp's side, though the early signs suggest he will operate as a versatile midfielder.
After a disastrous 2022/23 campaign, where Liverpool failed to reach the Champions League and were left trophy-less come the end of the season, too, the signing of Szoboszlai might actually be a masterstroke precisely because the answers to where and how he'll play remain unclear, as FourFourTwo's Adam Clery highlights in the video above.
Dominik Szoboszlai will transform Liverpool
Liverpool endured their worst season arguably ever under Jurgen Klopp in 2022/23.
Renowned for his high-octane, high-pressing philosophy, Klopp somewhat moved away from those tactics before the World Cup at the beginning of the campaign, instead employing a more controlled system which didn't rely as much on the chaos of "heavy metal football".
This backfired, however, leaving Liverpool closer to Wolves at the bottom of the Premier League than Manchester City at the top come Christmas. Swiftly, the German boss reverting back to his preferred system, and his new signings in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai highlight how he has learned his lesson.
In order to adapt the system he has become synonymous with, Klopp has specifically signed two versatile players capable of playing a number of positions, with both offering something completely different to what is already in the squad.
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With his intelligence, Mac Allister can sit deep in defensive midfield as well as operate further forward as one of Liverpool's No.8s, but Szoboszlai truly epitomises this shift in focus from the Liverpool manager.
The 22-year-old, though traditionally a winger, actually performs his best work in the inside channel (think Kevin De Bruyne's favoured position when crossing), allowing Mo Salah to keep his spot high and wide while Szoboszlai still provides an attacking threat himself.
Additionally, Liverpool love a high percentage of high turnovers - winning the ball back in the opposition's defensive third - and Szoboszlai ranked third in the Bundesliga last season for turnovers that led to a shot, meaning he'll fit perfectly into Klopp's team.
These turnovers were also across the forward line, and not exclusively limited to just the right wing where he played the majority of his minutes, highlighting his capabilities in various positions.
What's more, Szoboszlai also offers Liverpool variation when it comes to set-pieces. An expert crosser and deliverer of the ball, Szoboszlai's presence means Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson don't always have to leave vacated spaces for opposition attackers to expose on counter-attacks when they're taking corners, because Szoboszlai has the quality to step up himself.
More Liverpool stories
Liverpool transfer news is ramping up ahead of a huge summer for both clubs.
Benjamin Pavard of Bayern Munich has been linked, while James Ward-Prowse is said to be on the shortlist. Celta Vigo's Gabri Veiga is a target and Khephren Thuram of Nice is said to be close to joining – but Manuel Ugarte is one star who reportedly won't be moving to Merseyside.
Diogo Jota also tells FFT how he lost money when Luis Diaz signed for the club from Porto.
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.