Steven Gerrard left big shoes to fill after his departure, but Dominik Szoboszlai, a successor to the iconic number eight, hasn’t done it a disservice so far.
The 22-year-old leaves for the international break as one of the winners from Liverpool’s first four Premier League games. Over the next two weeks, he will continue as captain of Hungary for their upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Serbia and the Czech Republic.
But on Merseyside, he leaves a lasting impression despite being only four games, 360 minutes, into his Liverpool career after making the £60m switch from RB Leipzig.
In the Hungarian, there is now a combative midfielder in the ranks, who already has shown glimpses of mimicking Steven Gerrard’s success – made the more fitting by wearing the former Reds skipper’s iconic number eight shirt.
This diamond in the rough does remain raw. Comparisons to the former Liverpool and England captain are premature, but the glimpse that the former RB Leipzig man has provided offers a positive insight into what is to come in his Anfield career.
Jurgen Klopp has had important midfielders like Gini Wijnaldum and Fabinho within his squad who have helped tie defence and attack, with Philippe Coutinho standing out for his playmaking ability.
Throughout his time as Liverpool manager, the phenomenon of Gerrard has loomed over, whether he will succeed the former Borussia Dortmund manager when he departs.
Previously, the German manager has claimed that he would’ve loved to have worked alongside the iconic Liverpool skipper.
He told This is Anfield in 2021: “Stevie and me together in the roles, he as the man on the pitch and me as a coach that would have been nice.
“So it’s Stevie. Six years ago it would have been a different answer but now I’m here and I know him as a person and as a player so that’s now an easy answer.”
The similarities can be drawn between Gerrard and Szoboszlai whether it comes to their striking ability, incisive passing or set-piece delivery. Liverpool have yet to see the full repertoire of the latter but already, they caught a peek when he arrowed a left-footed volley past Emiliano Martinez and wheeled away, knee-sliding in front of the Anfield Road End.
Szoboszlai provides Klopp with the athleticism and energy of a powerful midfielder and a goalscoring threat. The relentless nature of the midfielder left Klopp bewildered, likening him to a machine.
“He’s a machine, eh? That is now four games, pretty impressive, absolutely impressive, tactically smart, absolutely ready for the dirty part of the game, really hard work, not the fancy stuff,” he said in the aftermath of their win over Aston Villa.
“It was so important how Curt [Jones] and Dom closed the spaces. What a goal, I saw it from behind, the cleanest striker I saw for a long time.”
The term ‘relentless’ that has become a fabric of Liverpool in the early stages of this season has been their constant, harrier-like press often supported in midfield from their Hungarian summer signing. It’s something of a far cry from the midfield which was often labelled as passive, safe and was largely overran last year.
Going into the summer, there was very much change afoot at Anfield. Three midfielders were headed for the exit upon the expiry of their contract, and then the surprise moves for Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to the Saudi Pro League provided further need for reinforcements.
The jury is still out on whether this current midfield is capable of firing Liverpool back to where they belong but the early indication is positive.
However, in the years gone by, Liverpool have been crying out for a goalscoring and tenacious midfielder. Last season alone, the midfield options contributed a combined seven goals across the Premier League season – Henderson (0 goals), Fabinho (0 goals), Stefan Bajcetic (one goal), Curtis Jones (three goals), Thiago Alcantara (0 goals), Naby Keita (0 goals), James Milner (0 goals), Harvey Elliott (one goal) and Fabio Carvalho (two goals).
Gerrard netted double figures in a Premier League campaign on no fewer than five occasions, surpassing five goals a further seven times during his Anfield career.
Midfielders aren’t solely judged by their goalscoring output but the aforementioned options from last season added just six assists collectively, with Henderson, Fabinho and Elliott turning provider on two occasions.
With the addition of productivity and goal output, Szoboszlai has the capabilities within his arsenal to become a key member of the new ‘Liverpool FC Reloaded’. The lack of squad cohesion was evident but those issues have been eradicated with a fluid, freshly-oiled threat.
Now, a previously feared front three is quickly becoming a six-man base following the impressive displays from Szoboszlai and fellow summer arrival, Alexis Mac Allister. Whatever the iconic German boss had in mind for his new-look Liverpool, Szoboszlai has only taken four games to become a key cog for what lies ahead.
After just 360 minutes of Premier League football, Szoboszlai is already courting comparisons to Gerrard-admirer Klopp, and for the Liverpool boss, he is the closest thing the Reds have had to a player of his nature since departing for LA Galaxy.
