Dominik Soboslai is the second midfielder to sign for Liverpool this summer. Credit: Getty Images/Odd Andersen
Liverpool confirm signing of Dominik Soboslai for £60m
The Hungarian has signed a five-year deal and joins Jurgen Klopp in targeting the 22-year-old after how he gave up chasing Manchester United. Mason Mount.
Klopp was initially interested in the England international, but decided Soboslai's fee and personal arrangements were of great value.
While Mount earns around £250,000 a week at United, Soboslai will receive less half of that salary. His age profile also made him a highly regarded alternative after Liverpool recruiters completed due diligence on a number of goals.
Liverpool were also able to quickly complete negotiations with their former club, RB Leipzig, following the activation of the release clause. on Friday. Soboslai will add a new dimension to Klopp's midfield. Klopp thinks he can play a wide variety of roles: as an eight, a deep striker or a winger.
“As talented as Erling Haaland”
When Liverpool confirmed they were stepping aside in pursuit of Jude Bellingham , Klopp explained that he needed at least three great players to reset his starting XI, not just one.
The £60m signing of Soboslai means that Liverpool, already with two on board, is £20m less than Real Madrid have allocated for England's coveted young superstar. By any measure, it looks like a tricky job, especially since Soboslaj's former RB Salzburg coach Jesse Marsh is widely quoted suggesting the Hungarian midfielder is «as talented as Erling Haaland».
It remains to be seen how effectively Soboslai and Alexis Mac Allister, hastily signed from Brighton and Hove Albion for a meager £35m, can restore Liverpool's top-four status, not to mention relaunch title bids.
But after all the excitement, with Liverpool frankly admitting they are unwilling and unable to compete for the £115m talent of a generation, the club's transfer policy rationale is being put into action.
The cold hard truth is that, logically and financially, Klopp and the owner of Fenway Sports Group should have been allocating their resources rather than engaging in a lengthy saga that they would probably have lost anyway, given that Bellingham later said he would always dreamed of the Bernabeu. p>
It must be said that there was some misunderstanding of the reaction to Liverpool dropping out of the Bellingham race when they did so. No matter how great Bellingham is, three great players will always improve the squad more than one, albeit an exceptional purchase. The source of Kop's concern was that the club, which had been lavished in praise for his vision, needed so much right now. We signed smarter contracts in the summer of 2022 and Liverpool would not be in this situation in 2023.
Liverpool misjudged how quickly their center zone needed to be upgraded to avoid last season's fall. He should never have reached that point, so — at the time — leaving Bellingham seemed like a symbol of his own weakness, even if the same decision could have been taken from a position of strength 12 months earlier.
Jude Bellingham was closely associated with Liverpool before joining Real Madrid. at the same time last year, his side pulled away from a quadruple bid, but he was asked about boosting midfield at his first press conference last summer and insisted it could wait, listing his many options.
“What do we want? This Golden Cow, which produces absolutely everything, including milk!” he said in July 2022.
He didn't foresee how long it would take senior players like Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to recover from the rigors of successive campaigns.A month later, 36-year-old James Milner was deputy in central midfield and Liverpool were looking for an emergency replacement at the deadline for their injured captain Henderson.
The average age of Klopp's most experienced midfielders last August was 29. This lessened over the course of the season with the arrival of 18-year-old Stefan Baisetic and the return to fitness and form of 22-year-old Curtis Jones.
With the departures of Milner, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, Naby Keita and the barely visible Arthur Melo, replaced by 24-year-old Mac Allister and 22-year-old Soboslai, Liverpool's midfield has become younger and more dynamic. Recruit salaries should also be better than those of Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain. Throw in the hybrid role of Trent Alexander-Arnold and the ever-improving teenager Harvey Elliott, and the foundation is laid for the next four years.
Liverpool's aging midfield was a major weakness last season. Credit: Getty Images/Robbie Jay Barratt Change of defender at Anfield
Soboslaj's arrival will solidify the changes on the pitch, as well as Klopp's midfield age profile, the pragmatism of the Champions League and Premier League winning team will turn into a more creative unit.
Soboslaj is multi-faceted, his production is particularly impressive in relation to his goals and gears. The Red Bull empire has proven its ability to find gems. Šboloslai scored 26 goals and 35 assists in 83 games for RB Salzburg before moving to Leipzig in January 2021.
After injuries delayed his debut, his impact was immediate when he scored two goals on his debut. Six-foot-one and described as two feet tall, Bundesliga fans have compared his style to Portuguese legend Rui Costa. Since Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool have not had such an attacking presence among the three central players, although it would seem that Soboslaj would be just as comfortable playing higher up the field.
«He is an incredibly ambitious player who wants to win» — Leipzig. coach Marco Rose said last January. «His shooting is exceptional, especially from long range.»
Will this satisfy the part of the fan base that was skeptical about FSG's recruiting strategy? Now that the deal with Soboslaj is done, critics should be temporarily reassured, glad that the summer promise has been kept.
Klopp started last season with a jaded, aging midfield. With the first two trades and an updated Alexander-Arnold, the position looks updated. Having missed Bellingham, Klopp may have found his “golden cow” after all, although he still had extra money left.
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