How successful the signing of Dominik Szoboszlai proves to be could define Liverpool’s season. In conversation with the player’s former coach Rene Maric, we look at the qualities he brings and the tactical role that he could play in Jurgen Klopp’s new midfield…
Sunday 13 August 2023 10:05, UK
Liverpool’s long-awaited midfield overhaul has arrived. The experience of Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Fabinho has been lost. But the focus is on what Jurgen Klopp’s team could gain. There is energy and enterprise in the middle of the pitch now.
Alexis Mac Allister is a known quantity to Premier League audiences. The World Cup winner will bring control to the midfield and can cover the ground too. But it is the possibility of pairing him with fellow new signing Dominik Szoboszlai that is so intriguing.
This £60m signing from RB Leipzig brings something new - but perhaps something old as well. The initial success that Klopp brought to Anfield was built on a high-intensity game. Szoboszlai, 22, can do that. "He is unbelievably athletic," Rene Maric tells Sky Sports.
"His physical output is very consistent if you look at his data. If you look at his games from the eye test, you can see that he is not doing anything for show defensively, he is not doing a run for 40 metres alone. But he also never stops tracking back. He wins duels."
Maric worked with Szoboszlai when he was a young teenager at Red Bull Salzburg, following his progression through to the first-team where the Austrian coach was assistant to Marco Rose. The principles of pressing were instilled in the player at an early age.
But the work ethic was always there.
"We would have a session in the morning or an off-day and I would be working in the office and you look out and he is there on the pitch just taking these amazing free-kicks. It is a mixture of talent but also a lot of hard work. That is testament to his character.
"When you have known a player from a young age, you know they are going to change a lot from the age of 15 or 16 but to see the physical change in him. He is so much bigger and he has kept that, how can I put this in English, that very positive arrogance.
"He always knew that he could become world class and now you can see that he really thinks that he is. But as well as that you can still see that he is someone who likes to play football, someone who likes the hard work. I think that combination is brilliant."
There have been glimpses already. Three goals in pre-season have come from his corners. "He will create danger from set pieces." An audacious attempt from near the halfway line against Leicester. "He has one of the best ball-striking abilities in the world."
His skill in unlocking defences with something different will appeal to Klopp. The Liverpool boss noted after the opening pre-season friendly that there was too much emphasis on Trent Alexander-Arnold to make things happen. Szoboszlai can do that too.
"It depends how they use him but his talent is unbelievable," says Maric. "He is very good with the ball. He is still a football player at heart. That is to say he is someone who wants to get on the ball, who has that mentality that he can solve problems one-against-one."
This question of where Szoboszlai will play for Liverpool is an interesting one. Given that he drifted to the right for Leipzig last season, while Mac Allister often occupied that half space in the left channel, the two men seemed a natural fit for those advanced roles.
But Klopp switched it in the early pre-season games with Szoboszlai deployed on the left. His flexibility, the capacity to be comfortable in wider positions than Mac Allister, might be the explanation because it allows Luis Diaz or Diogo Jota to move into central areas.
Such a hybrid role is an unusual one for a Liverpool midfielder but Szoboszlai is well suited to it. The position should allow him to isolate himself against defenders but also encourage him to come inside into areas where he can shoot or pick out the final pass.
Maric believes Szoboszlai is capable of playing that role. "For me, if he is used well, he can play on the wing one-against-one but it is not like it is his best position to just stay out wide and play that one-against-one, I think there are other players for that," he explains.
"For me, if they play him as an inside 10 or as an 8 who can move wide when he needs to or if the situation requires it, if they utilise him like that, just his talent, his potential, and how complete he is as a player, it really makes him a fascinating prospect.
"He can keep your ball ticking, your ball retention, your circulation, because of his ability to turn away from pressure and still find a good pass. I expected him to go to Newcastle. Liverpool snatched him and that was a smart move. I think he is a very good buy."
It is the blend that will be key. Szoboszlai has the technique to elevate Liverpool's game in possession and the physicality to deliver what is required out of possession. Even Klopp's greatest midfield lacked the former. The more recent version has missed the latter.
"If he is on fire, he can score a screamer from 25 metres or he can play a very creative final ball," concludes Maric. "But even if he might be having a bad day, he will give you a baseline defensively, which I think is very important for Liverpool and Klopp's style."
Liverpool's long-awaited midfield overhaul has arrived.
