How Dominik Szoboszlai is powering Liverpool's surprise title challenge

Dominik Szoboszlai is the definition of an all-action footballer. 

There was justifiable hype around his £60m transfer to Liverpool over the summer, though given the volatile record of recent attacking signings from the Bundesliga, many understandably preached caution and warned of a potential settling in period. 

Szoboszlai has made a mockery of those suggestions, however, managing what Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Leon Bailey, Naby Keita and many more struggled to: swap Germany for England without skipping a beat, making an instant impact. Perhaps most impressive of all, he’s done that in a team in the middle of a full rebuild in midfield. 

"[I like] what everybody saw: his energy combined with technique [and] desire," was Jürgen Klopp’s early assessment of the Hungarian. "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.” 

Wait… when he settles properly? If this is just the start, then dark days loom for opposing teams making the trip to Anfield later on this season. 

Klopp’s praise of Szoboszlai was typically enthusiastic of a new signing, but in no way was it airbrushed either - he really does have "all the attributes." From availability and durability, to versatility, to creativity, to sheer workrate, to goalscoring, he’s shown us each and every side of the game. 

He’s the only Liverpool outfielder to play all 900 Premier League minutes this season. When you consider the fact the Reds have played three of their 10 games with 10 men (or fewer!) for spells, that statistic becomes even more impressive. Watching him during those games is a remarkable experience; he just does not stop running, harrying, closing down, doing the work of two men in midfield and levelling the playing field almost single-handedly. He ranks in the top two for distance covered in every single Premier League game Liverpool have played so far. 

The scope of his impact goes far beyond running, though. You can pick almost any statistic, to measure any aspect of play, and Szoboszlai is likely in Liverpool’s top three. He’s third for shots (21), second for dribbles (28), first for passes (632), first for key passes (25) and third for tackles (14). From a league-wide perspective, he’s third for shot-creating actions (51) and fourth for winning back possession in the middle third (37). Who else delivers on such a wide array of attributes so consistently? At the level he’s performing at, it’s tough to think of many. 

Specifically in a Liverpool context, no one can chain together ludicrous passages of play in the way he does. Not even Mohamed Salah can match his ball-striking technique and long-range passing, which is often followed up by the sort of lung-busting run only he can produce. That’s no criticism of the Egyptian, whose goals and assists tally looks mighty healthy once again, but Szoboszlai is now positioned firmly at the centre of everything Liverpool do, and it’s for good reason. 

His early impact is a major reason as to why, despite rebuilding the entire middle section of the team and fully moving on from Roberto Firmino over the summer, Liverpool are comfortably part of the title-chasing pack at this stage. It’s early days, but they’ve seemingly closed a fair chunk of the 15-20 point gap to Arsenal and Manchester City from last season. And as Klopp has hinted, both Szoboszlai and Liverpool are likely to continue improving from here. 

That’s a scary thought for anyone in the Reds’ path, from Europa League contestants to Champions League qualification candidates… and perhaps even Arsenal and City at the very summit.