For one senior player at Liverpool, Andoni Iraola’s first few games in charge will present a significant ‘audition’.
The bulk of the Reds’ first-team squad is due to assemble at the AXA Training Centre next week to begin pre-season preparations, although several high-profile names will be conspicuous by their absence.
A number of regular starters are either still involved at the World Cup (Alexis Mac Allister) or will be on holidays after their participation in the tournament (Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak).
It means that the Liverpool squad which’ll fly to the United States for their pre-season tour later this month will be without numerous recognisable faces, although Dominik Szoboszlai is set to be involved, having had the summer off as Hungary didn’t qualify for the World Cup finals.
In an article for the Liverpool Echo, Paul Gorst explained that the 25-year-old is set to be at the head of the queue to captain the Reds in those friendlies in the absence of Van Dijk, and he could also put forward his credentials to take the armband permanently after the Dutch veteran moves on.
The journalist wrote: ‘With no Virgil van Dijk, who will be enjoying a summer break, when the club are in the United States for their pre-season period, Szoboszlai has as much of a chance as anyone else as being named Iraola’s captain for the games against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United.
‘There is no other obvious alternative, given that the squad has lost [Mo] Salah and [2025/26 vice-captain] Andy Robertson, and Alisson Becker will also be on his end-of-season vacation.
‘If Szoboszlai is serious about taking that next step into the leadership bracket at Liverpool, the next few weeks could have a large say on that under Iraola. This, essentially, could become something of an audition for the No.8.’
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The Hungarian – who captains his national team – has previously professed his determination to take on added responsibility at Liverpool, and he’d appear to be among the leading contenders to replace Robertson as vice-captain.
His leadership skills are apparent from his duty with Hungary, he’s coming into his prime footballing years, he’s a near-automatic selection for the Reds (36 Premier League starts last term) and he leads by example with his performances on the pitch.
It seems likely that he’ll be given the armband for Iraola’s first few games as LFC head coach on the pre-season tour, and the 25-year-old may well view that run of fixtures as his chance to potentially succeed Van Dijk as permanent skipper in the future.
As Gorst also outlined, Szoboszlai remains in talks with Liverpool over a potential contract extension which’d keep him at Anfield for the peak years of his career, which suggests that he wants to remain on Merseyside for the long-term.
These next few weeks could be pivotal for our number 8 as he seeks to take on a demonstrable leadership role for the Reds.
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