Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has warned best mate Erling Haaland that he hasn’t joined him in the Premier League to finish second.
The £60million Hungarian international forged such a close bond with the Manchester City striker when they were team-mates at RB Salzburg that he bought a house on the same millionaire’s row as the treble-winning Norwegian following his arrival at Anfield.
Just two games into the new campaign and Szoboszlai is already coveting his neighbour’s title.
The 22-year-old also has City defender Josko Gvardiol and Chelsea striker Christopher Nkunku in his circle of friends – and when he was asked which of them would prevail this season, he didn’t hesitate.
“Us,” said Szoboszlai, trying to disguise a grin that suggested he might be on a wind-up. “No, I am not joking. I always think that way. Even if it is hard.
“There are some very good teams in the Premier League – but we are also very good. We have a very good coach and players. We are going to do our best – and at the end I want to be first.
“I think everybody in the Premier League who has a chance to win is like this. We are all thinking the same. Probably the other guys are going to say the same as me if you ask them.
“I am this type. I like to win and I like to do everything for the team. If they ask me if I want to win the Premier League, of course I want to win it. If I want to win the Europa League and the FA Cup, it’s the same.
“I want to win everything because nobody is going to ask you how it feels to be second.”
Szoboszlai can talk the talk alright – although his conversations with Haaland tend to be about anything other than football.
“When I am speaking with him, it is not about football,” he added. “He knows my family, I know his family a little bit. We speak about how they are, how he is. Everyday stuff, not the football.
“He came here and scored over 50 goals in a season. I knew he was going to do it because I knew his quality. What he did last year he is probably going to continue – but I am also looking to continue for my team.
“Erling is my really good friend but I don’t really care about that for these 95 or 100 minutes we play each other – and he probably doesn’t care as well.
“This is normal. I am looking out for myself and my team-mates – and if I am going to score a last-minute goal to win I am even happier.”
Szoboszlai is following in the footsteps of his father, Szolt, who enjoyed a professional career of his own before taking charge of his son’s early coaching with a dedication which eventually saw him establish his own academy team.
The midfielder left home at 14 to pursue his dream with RB Salzburg before moving on to the Austrian champions’ sister club in Leipzig.
In the summer of 2022, Szoboszlai scored the penalty that secured victory for Hungary in a Nations League clash with England in Budapest.
But it was his impressive performances in the German Bundesliga and Champions League last season that really caught the attention of Europe’s top clubs.
Newcastle were linked with Szoboszlai before Liverpool triggered the buy-out clause in his contract just as he was enjoying a holiday with friends in Croatia earlier this summer.
The Hungarian will experience St James’ Park for the first time when Jurgen Klopp’s men travel to Tyneside to face the team that beat them to a top-four place last season.
Szoboszlai said: “I left everything to my agent. I just do my thing and if something comes up he is going to tell me. I was on holiday with my friends when Liverpool came in – and of course I was really enjoying myself.
“Then my phone rang and my agent said ‘okay, now you have to stop enjoying the holiday and take care of yourself! Now you have to leave’.”