Dominik Szoboszlai, a target for Liverpool, has previously stated his desire to win the Champions League.
The 22-year-old is scheduled to get a medical before moving from RB Leipzig to Anfield. Just hours before it was set to expire, the Reds informed the Bundesliga team on Friday that they would exercise the midfielders’ £60 million release clause.
The base fee was scheduled to become available at the completion on June 30. The Hungarian captain is now a step closer to being captured by Jurgen Klopp.
Szoboszlai will arrive in Merseyside as the German manager demands an improvement from his team after their fifth-place Premier League finish the previous campaign.The Leipzig midfielder looks set to walk through the doors at the AXA Training Centre on the back of winning back-to-back DFB Pokal’s with Die Roten Bullen.
It’s an exciting time at the Reds after the arrival of Alexis Mac Allister plus with big campaigns ahead for Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez. The ongoing work at Anfield will also see Liverpool move closer to having a 61,000-seater capacity with their first game of the Premier League season away from L4.
However, the 22-year-old has previously discussed his goals in detail before joining Liverpool. Speaking to the official Bundesliga website, he declared: “I have previously stated that winning the Champions League is my greatest desire.
“I want to have a really excellent career and win as many trophies as I can because that was my aim when I was younger. For the national team, I want to play in front of 70,000 spectators in packed stadiums, score goals, and make people happy.
“I also want my father and other members of my family to witness me taking home awards like the Champions League.
“That’s the aim and that’s why I get up and work hard every day. Hopefully, that will pay off,” he added. “Once again, to win the Champions League. I also want to stay healthy and injury-free, I don’t wish injuries on anyone.
“With Leipzig, I aim to finish as high as possible in the Bundesliga and advance as far as I can in the cup and the Champions League. We are currently working toward that.
Mohamed Salah expressed a similar attitude at the conclusion of the previous season in a heartfelt social media message, lamenting his failure to win the Champions League.
‘Confirmed’ – Dominik Szoboszlai medical update as key Liverpool contract clause emerges
Szoboszlai’s RB Leipzig contract had a £60.1 million release clause, which Liverpool chose to activate. After initial interest on Wednesday, Jurgen Klopp’s team’s volley to sign the midfielder has come at lightning speed.
The international from Hungary arrived yesterday in Merseyside and underwent a good medical. Currently, it is claimed that Szoboszlai has signed a contract that will last until 2028, albeit there will be no chance to extend the initial agreement.
Dominik Szoboszlai has just signed the official contract. 🔴🔒 #LFC
He’s new Liverpool player on long term deal valid until June 2028 — no option included.
€70m release clause triggered on Friday.
Medical tests successfully completed.
Here we go since yesterday, confirmed ✅ pic.twitter.com/7r4rMLBKof
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 1, 2023
Dominik Szoboszlai just signed the official contract, Romano wrote in a tweet. He recently signed a long-term contract with Liverpool that runs until June 2028 without an option. On Friday, the €70m release clause was activated. successfully completed medical test. Here we are today, as confirmed yesterday.
Alexis Mac Allister will be followed by Szoboszlai as they enter the Liverpool arrival door.
Mac Allister left Brighton and Hove Albion and joined the Reds for £35 million. Argentina’s World Cup victory is also committed to them until 2028.
Dominik Szoboszlai shares Philippe Coutinho trait Liverpool can hone as transfer to be confirmed
Philippe Coutinho made a name for himself at Anfield by scoring a particular kind of goal while playing for Liverpool. Under Jürgen Klopp’s guidance, the ex-Red, who left English soil to join Barcelona in 2018, fully mastered the art of the long-range strike, scoring a ton of screamers.
The South American enjoyed attempting to score from distances of over 20 yards. In fact, he scored one goal every nine shots in the Premier League during his final 18 months as a Liverpool player, scoring an amazing 14 goals from outside the penalty area from 126 attempts.
The Brazilian almost conflicted with the modern approach of getting the ball as close to goal as possible before attempting to beat the goalkeeper. The rise of expected goals and data have provided coaches and players with an understanding of the best locations from which to shoot, with efforts from outside the penalty area usually scored less than five per cent of the time for the most part.
Shooting from range is generally regarded as a bad habit in the modern game — largely due to the constant push for optimized decision-making on the field — but Coutinho broke the mold because of his genuine expertise and remarkable ability to strike a ball with great accuracy and ferocity.
While the rest of his colleagues played more incisively and strategically by pushing the ball towards the area before attempting to complete attacking movements, Klopp was practically compelled to give him a free pass to shoot. Coutinho deserved particular treatment since he was so skilled at striking.
After the 31-year-old attacker left the Reds approximately five and a half years ago and is currently under contract with Aston Villa, Liverpool chose not to sign a comparable replacement. With pace merchants like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, Luis Dáz, and Diogo Jota leading the line for his club, Klopp has made an investment in a different kind of player.
Dominik Szoboszlai has been linked to Liverpool in headlines this week, but the ECHO, among others, has now verified that the Reds would pay the full release clause for the 22-year-old. The Athletic reported on Friday morning that Newcastle United had withdrawn from the bidding for him as the deal moved very rapidly. The contest has concluded.
The Hungarian international appears destined to join Alexis Mac Allister as Liverpool’s second signing of the summer, and it is interesting that he depicts shades of Coutinho in one specific department. The two players are different stylistically and the former is a lot more versatile than the latter, but Szoboszlai looks equally keen when it comes to shooting from far out.
Across his last two campaigns in the Bundesliga, he’s amassed a total of 62 shots from outside the box. For perspective, over the same period, Salah has accumulated just 50 shots from outside the box, even though the Egyptian has played far more often, and he’s a forward compared to Szoboszlai, who is more of a midfielder.
Like Coutinho, Szoboszlai can certainly strike a ball with supreme ferocity but despite that, his ability to find the net isn’t quite as strong. He’s scored just three times from his 62 efforts in the German top flight, with two of them originating from free-kick situations. For that reason, he might have to curb his habit on Merseyside.
Klopp certainly shouldn’t completely prevent him from attempting to score when he feels like he can do so, but perhaps the famous red jersey will allow him to refine his decisions. If Szoboszlai can become as much of a master as Coutinho in the future, things could change, but right now, he must ensure that he’s making the right choices on the pitch for Liverpool.
Supporters shouldn’t be surprised if he ends up in the running for Goal of the Season in the near future but at the same time, he still has plenty of room to evolve at Anfield.