Author: Amrit Santlani
Liverpool confirmed their second big-money arrival of the current summer transfer window when they sealed a £60 million deal to sign Dominik Szoboszlai from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.
The Hungarian midfielder signed a five-year contract with the Premier League giants after they allegedly activated his release clause on the day it was due to expire, June 30.
Szoboszlai received the number 8 shirt, previously worn by club legend Steve Gerard. He becomes the latest midfielder to join the Merseyside club, after Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister, who arrived for a fee of £35 million.
Speaking about taking the “next step” in his career, the 22-year-old was happy to be joining a “historic club” like Liverpool.
“It’s a really historic club, with great players and a good coach,” said Szoboszlai. “For me, it was perfect to take the next step at a club like this. The fans, the stadium, everything is great” he added.
Having started his career in his native Hungary, Dominik joined Austrian second division club Liefering in 2017 and a year later RB Salzburg came calling. After three years in the Austrian first team, sister club Leipzig signed Szoboszlai and in his two years with the Bundesliga side he won the German Cup twice.
Last season, the youngster made 46 appearances for Leipzig in all competitions, scoring 10 goals and providing 13 assists.
Following the departures of James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Liverpool have been looking to reinvigorate their midfield line, having been strongly linked with Nice’s Kephren Thuram.
Szoboszlai was also on Newcastle United’s radar, but his release clause was deemed too expensive by the team, before Jurgen Klopp’s side acted at the right time to secure the Hungarian’s signature.
Klopp confirmed that he really admired the player when the two clubs met in 2019 in the Champions League, when Liverpool won their group games against Leipzig 4-3 and 2-0.
Since then, Szoboszlai has become Hungary’s captain, having been called up to the national team 32 times and scoring 7 goals for the national team.