‘Held a lot of promise’ – Reporter reveals how Szoboszlai was viewed in Bundesliga before LFC move
German football reporter Christian Falk has said that Dominik Szoboszlai showed ‘a lot of promise’ during his time at RB Leipzig but isn’t yet a ‘superstar’.
The 22-year-old recently completed a £60m move to Liverpool from the Bundesliga outfit (BBC Sport), who also sold Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea this year.
Speaking to CaughtOffside, Falk suggested that the Reds’ newest recruit wasn’t perceived as quite as big a loss to Germany’s top flight as the new Stamford Bridge attacker, although the Hungarian still holds the potential to become a genuine star.
The journalist said: “Dominik Szoboszlai held a lot of promise in the Bundesliga but it was harder for the league to lose Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea as he was already a star in the Bundesliga, whereas Szoboszlai was on the way to this point.
“I think he brought some good money for RB Leipzig. They will reinvest the Nkunku money into a deal for Lois Openda of Lens and they are searching for a Szoboszlai replacement. Szoboszlai is a really good player but he’s not a superstar already; how good he will be we will see in the future.”
Perhaps Liverpool’s new number 8 isn’t regarded as ‘superstar’ material just yet, but his potential to become one would be in keeping with some of the standout transfers of Jurgen Klopp’s reign at Anfield.
The likes of Mo Salah, Alisson, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane wouldn’t have been held up as elite-level names who all of Europe’s top clubs were tripping over themselves to sign at the time of their respective arrivals on Merseyside, but they all grew into world-class performers under the German.
An outlay of £60m indicates that Szoboszlai is a serious talent rather than it being a total punt on a largely unproven player, but the hope for the Reds’ hierarchy will be that the fee will come to be judged as money very well spent.
A fair comparison here could be the £67m invested in the Brazilian goalkeeper five years ago (Sky Sports), which would’ve been considered a huge show of faith at the time but has since proven to be worth every last penny.
Klopp has a reputation for moulding superstars rather than buying them, and hopefully that’s exactly what’ll happen with the Hungary playmaker over the course of his time at Liverpool.
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