RB Leipzig may not be the oldest club in the world, but the Bundesliga club have long since established themselves as an excellent school for developing some of European football’s most promising talents. Some of the Premier League’s biggest stars have made their way through the Red Bull Arena and it seems as though another star of the club may be on his way to England. After feverish negotiations on Friday, Liverpool are now set to sign Dominik Szoboszlai in a deal worth €70 million.
Liverpool have beaten out Newcastle, who were also interested in the Hungarian national team player. The Anfield club worked feverishly on Friday night to get a deal across the line before the exit clause was set to expire on midnight June 30. Those negotiations were successful and the club is now set to sign the player above his €50 million market value.
Marco Rose and sporting director Max Eberl, however, will now have a sizeable amount of money to work with on the transfer market this summer. The €70m fee earned through the transfer, in fact, will be a new record deal for an outgoing Leipzig player—the previous record was held by Christopher Nkunku who will join Chelsea for €60m on July 1. Only two Liverpool players, in the meantime, were more expensive than the Hungarian.
What type of player is Dominik Szoboszlai?
Although Szoboszlai has the technical ability to play in a number of positions, it’s a common misconception to label the young Hungary international as a central midfielder or deep-lying playmaker. The 22-year-old certainly has the passing ability to pull the strings for any team, but his real passion and talent lies in his ability to create and score goals in equal measure in the final third.
This was perfectly evident during the 2022/23 season at RB Leipzig. Primarily played as an inside forward or No.10, Szoboszlai picked up 10 goals and 13 assists in 46 games, averaging a very impressive 0.55 goals or assists per 90 minutes. Only star striker and recent Chelsea signing Nkunku bagged more goal contributions across all competitions, with 23 goals and nine assists.
Indeed, where Szoboszlai thrives is in his dribbling and eye for goal. According to Opta, only four other midfielders completed more successful dribbles than the Leipzig talent in the Bundesliga last season. While Szoboszlai was top among his midfield peers for total shots on target, second for attempts from set-pieces, third for through balls and fourth for key passes. In other words, he’s a very accomplished player when tasked with playing like a traditional No.10 or inside forward.
