Even in October, it doesn’t feel too premature to put Dominik Szoboszlai forward as a candidate for signing of the season. Certainly, he was the crown jewel in Liverpool’s summer transfer business, with the RB Leipzig acquisition looking like a real bargain at $73m (£60m/€69m).
Frankly, it seems baffling that Liverpool was able to come in and trigger that release clause with seemingly no real competition from other giants of the European game. At 22, the only way is up for Szoboszlai, but already he is one of the league’s standout performers.
It says a lot that there have already been comparisons to Steven Gerrard. That’s the highest honor a Liverpool player can get, especially after just a matter of months at the club.
But although Szoboszlai possesses the number eight shirt, will he always be in that Gerrard role? It’s very possible, but Jürgen Klopp has never been averse to shuffling his pack, and there’s one move on the horizon that could make a lot of sense.
When Mohamed Salah moves on, there will be a vacancy on the right wing. Nobody in world football will be able to step up in a like-for-like manner, but Szoboszlai — who spent most of his time at Leipzig as a kind of narrow right-winger — would do a better job than most.
Even in terms of the existing squad, there would be a degree of logic in such a move. When Salah goes, there will be a real shortage on the right; a switch for Szoboszlai would still leave the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott in contention in the number eight roles.
But a blockbuster transfer (perhaps funded by blockbuster Salah money) would really unlock this reshuffle. And while it might seem like an affront to shunt Szoboszlai elsewhere to make way for a new addition, many would have said the same when the Egyptian himself forced Sadio Mané onto the left.
So who could justify all this? The answer lies with Xabi Alonso, who has overseen the comeback of Florian Wirtz.
It might seem strange to be experiencing a ‘comeback’ at just 20, but Wirtz has already had his meteoric rise halted once by a cruciate ligament injury that saw him miss the best part of a year. Yet fears over the long-term effects have now been largely allayed, with the youngster at the heart of Alonso’s revolution at Bayer Leverkusen.
Wirtz has started the season in electric form, and his three goals and four assists across all competitions have helped Leverkusen to the top of the Bundesliga and Group H of the Europa League. Just like when he first broke through, he is being linked to a host of top clubs, including Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
A transfer to Bayern is a very real possibility for just about any German talent emerging in the Bundesliga. But a switch to Barcelona could prove more complicated — Mundo Deportivo goes as far as to suggest it is ‘almost impossible’, despite the fact Wirtz is followed closely by those at the Nou Camp.
That’s because he is expected to fetch upwards of $105m (£87m/€100m). At such a price, Liverpool would surely have a transfer advantage over Bayern Munich too, with the Premier League’s riches unmatched anywhere.
Wirtz would offer a lot of the same traits as Szoboszlai in the middle of the park. On the ball, he is even more of a progressive monster, with a tendency to drive Alonso’s side forward through intricate mazy runs as well as killer passes.
Klopp would have to assess whether Wirtz can offer the same off-the-ball tendencies, with Szoboszlai a more proven presser. But Alonso demands a lot of his Bayer Leverkusen charges when out of possession, so the German wonderkid is no luxury addition.
Speculation about a transfer for Leroy Sané has only served to underline that Liverpool will face a real shortage of direct options when the time comes to replace Salah. So a move for Wirtz and a new role for Szoboszlai could be the shrewdest way of reinvesting any potential Saudi millions — and with Barcelona potentially priced out, perhaps Klopp could get another surprisingly clear run at a generational talent.
