Dominik Szoboszlai – The Summer’s Best Signing?
With the summer now over, there is a lot of chat about what was the best signing of the break. With a few months experience under their belts, the fresh faces of the Premier League have had a chance to shine. Names like David Raya, Kai Havertz, and Declan Rice are all on the tip of commentators’ tongues, waiting to see who will come out on top, but we have another name in mind who has already blown the rest out of the water.
The name of Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai might not be household yet, but you can bet that Reds fans all over the world will soon be wearing the number 8 football shirt with the performance he’s given since August alone. Not convinced? Take a look at our reasons for why we think Szoboszlai is the 2023 summer’s best signing and what it means for Liverpool.
Where was Liverpool before Szoboszlai?
Liverpool was stuck in a rut before signing midfielder Szoboszlai. The 22-23 season was considered underwhelming. The team felt like they had fallen off following a 21-22 season that saw the team drop from quadruple-chasers to the fifth in the Premier League.
There were a lot of mistakes to fix, and manager Jurgen Klopp was first to admit that. The idea was to target key areas of improvement, particularly with backline and midfield players. Names like Henderson, Thiago, Milner and Fabinho were making up these positions and were all sitting on the wrong side of 30, dragging the team down. This is where Dominik Szoboszlai comes in.
Who is Dominik Szoboszlai?
Making his debut in a Premier League firm, Szoboszlai is a 22-year-old Hungarian that has been dubbed “The Rocket”, “a machine”, “a beast”, and “the best signing this year” by various voices across commentators and fans alike. With praise like that, you can put a reliable 32Red bet on Liverpool having a good chance at this year’s Premier League title.
Having played for Austrian football club Red Bull Salzburg and German football club RB Leipzig, where he scored 16 and 12 league goals respectively, he was plucked from his contract with a release clause and signed for a reported fee of £60 million.
His five-year contract has already seen him dominate in his debut against Chelsea, which resulted in a draw, compete in a 3-1 victory against Bournemouth, and voted by Liverpool fans as the club’s August Player of the Month.
A glowing reception from past managers
If you needed confirmation that Szoboszlai was the hottest pick of the summer, it was given by Paul Merson. The pundit gave his two cents on the performances of Szoboszlai in September, writing in his Sportskeeda column that Szoboszlai has been the “pick of the bunch”.
He went on to explain that the Premier League felt “back” to him when, after one of the longest breaks, a fresh set of signings gave the manager hope. In particular, he pointed out Szoboszlai having “impressed” him without “a bad game yet”. The former Walsall manager went on to say that Szoboszlai would be “phenomenal” for Liverpool in the future.
Additionally, Szoboszlai has enjoyed another glowing review from his Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who calls him a machine and has been known to say that he is “a real joy to work with”. This is all since his signing in the summer, making an impact on big names in football in just a few months.
Conclusion
If Szoboszlai keeps up the performance we’ve seen since August, he’ll not only land himself in awards like Player of the Month or Player of the Year, but he might even lead Liverpool FC back to the top of the Premier League table.
