The Hungary captain claimed the Player of the Match accolade for his starring role in the Reds’ 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth last weekend, with his energy and industry in midfield vital in compensating for the loss of Alexis Mac Allister to a red card that was later rescinded.
It was a display that left fans enthused – and those sentiments are shared by Klopp.
“[I liked] what everybody saw: his energy combined with technique [and] desire,” the manager told Sky Sports. “He has pretty much all the attributes you want to see – and the last thing you would think when you see him playing is he is only 22, so there is a lot more to come when he settles in properly.
“Obviously, he has no problem to adapt to everything in an instant, but there is still more to come and we are really pleased. We are really pleased, from the first day since he was here he is full of energy. [He is] in the middle of the team already and, yes, it’s good news.”
Szoboszlai arrived at Anfield from RB Leipzig in early July after two-and-a-half years with the Bundesliga club.
Klopp added: “He just loves playing this kind of football. I think he plays a different position to what he played at Leipzig, for example, but with his skillset he can play higher up the pitch as well.
“He has the speed to pass players, he has the technique, the finishing skills we didn’t even see them yet properly but his shooting is really special. We put him slightly deeper, involve him more in the game, he enjoys that a lot and he is doing well, really well.”
Szoboszlai has predominantly been utilised on the right of a three-man midfield for Liverpool so far, though he did adopt a deeper role following the 58th-minute dismissal of Mac Allister last weekend.
Nevertheless, Klopp feels the No.8 has the necessary skillset and quality to operate in a number of positions for the Reds.
“It was the way we played the first two games now and in the pre-season we had to play like this as well, so it’s fine, but it’s not the finished article,” the boss said of the early-season set-up.
“It’s not written in stone that we now do it like this or that. Besides the position he is playing now, he can play on the other side of midfield no problem, in a 4-4-2 pretty much all positions, higher up in the front three, so it depends on who is available and how we set it up.”
