Midfielder adapting to life under new manager
Reds need ‘something special’ without further additions
Dominik Szoboszlai believes last season’s frustration can push Liverpool to challenge for the title again but admits the squad must produce “something special” if no reinforcements arrive before the transfer deadline.
The Liverpool midfielder upped his already impressive level last season, being named the club’s player of the year, but collectively the team went into reverse with Arne Slot losing his job as a consequence. The poor title defence from a team that won the Premier League comfortably in Slot’s debut season should, Szoboszlai insists, prompt a reaction in Andoni Iraola’s debut campaign as Liverpool head coach.
“I can’t wait [for the new season], honestly,” said the Hungary captain following Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the US. “I feel that we are ready to go again and take motivation from last season because it was not the best. We didn’t end up where we wanted to. So now we’re going to go for it again.
“Everyone is motivated. I think I see in everybody’s eyes that he wants to play and, if you want to play, you have to give your best. And from there the manager is going to decide who is going to play. But everybody is on zero right now.”
Liverpool have added the central defender Jérémy Jacquet and the versatile forward Victor Muñoz this summer but, while they remain in pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola, a squad that has seen Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konaté depart as free agents remains light in several positions.
Szoboszlai said of Liverpool’s transfer activity: “It’s not my job to tell you who we have to sign or if we have to sign someone. If the guys above and the manager decide to sign someone, then we are very happy and are going to welcome him – or them – well. If they decide not to, then we have to do something special with this squad.”
The Liverpool midfielder revealed Iraola prefers not to address his players in the immediate aftermath of a game, a trait he discovered after the pre-season friendlies against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds. “He doesn’t speak after the game,” Szoboszlai disclosed. “I think every manager is different in his own way. That’s how he is. He always would rather speak the day after the game, which is fine for everyone. We have to get used to this.”
Iraola has also not spoken to Szoboszlai – or any other player for that matter – about filling one of the vice-captaincy positions vacated by Robertson and Salah. But the 25-year-old, who captained Liverpool on the US tour, says it would be a huge honour to be asked.
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He added: “There hasn’t been any conversation. We have Virgil [van Dijk] as the captain, we have Ali [Alisson], we have Joe Gomez [as vice-captains], so there was no conversation at all. Obviously Ali is not here and Joe is injured. Let’s see. It’s not fixed. If you get offered the vice-captain of Liverpool, you’re going to take it. It would be a proud moment for me but I respect everybody. Whoever it’s going to be, we’re going to follow them.”
The captain’s armband became an issue for Curtis Jones when Szoboszlai passed it to Kostas Tsimikas during the win over Wrexham in New York. But Szoboszlai, who recently signed a new five-year contract at Anfield, insisted there was no problem with his fellow midfielder.
“It was never a debate between us three,” he claimed. “We just discussed something on the pitch. After, you guys make it very big. But next time we will manage to do it in the changing room. Nobody was angry. It’s all cleared. We are cool, everybody.”
