Analysis'A great technical attacking midfielder' - the inside track on Dominik Szoboszlai

The Hungary midfielder arrived on Merseyside last weekend, completing a move from German side RB Leipzig to become Jürgen Klopp's second addition of the summer transfer window.

Szoboszlai joins the club after a two-and-a-half-year spell with Die Roten Bullen, where he claimed two DFB-Pokal titles, scoring in the 2023 final against Eintracht Frankfurt.

"He's a very technical player, very easy on the eye, quite tall as well, so he looks imposing," Bundesliga expert Raphael Honigstein tells Liverpoolfc.com.

"He's always busy and good out of possession, very hard-working – something that he had to adapt when he moved to the Red Bull group – and he has a great shot with a lovely delivery from free-kicks.

"He's a great technical attacking midfielder. I would say that's probably the best description."

Guido Schafer, chief football reporter at Leipziger Volkszeitung, adds: "Szobo is a player who works in both directions, he is very powerful going forward and causes lots of uncertainty with lots of variation in attack.

"He's also very hard-working out of possession, which makes him a handful to deal with in both aspects of the game."

Szoboszlai began his professional career with FC Liefering, Red Bull Salzburg's sister club, before stepping up to help Salzburg themselves claim league and cup doubles in both 2018-19 and 2019-20.

In the latter of those campaigns, he was named Austrian Bundesliga Player of the Season, while also becoming the first footballer to win Hungarian Sportsman of the Year.

Watch: Szoboszlai's signing day vlog

At just 22, he boasts a wealth of domestic and Champions League experience, and was also named captain of his country in late 2022.

Honigstein continues: "He is a big personality because of his status and stature in Hungary. He is sort of the player of his generation.

"At Leipzig there were others around him that helped him. But I think he can grow into a very important personality as well at a bigger club, provided his career progression and his development can continue.

"I had the pleasure of interviewing him not that long ago and he's very level-headed, a very smart guy who I think will be a great fit. As we know, Liverpool always take great care in scouting, not just player profiles but also their personalities, and I think he would have scored very highly on those as well."

Szoboszlai describes himself as box-to-box with the skillset of a No.10, being able to operate centrally or wider if required, alongside holding a keen eye for goal, having netted double figures in all but one campaign in his professional career to date.

"Leipzig coach Marco Rose knew him very well from their time at Red Bull Salzburg together and it was felt that with that good mentality and knowledge it gave him renewed confidence last season," Schafer says.

"He paid his boss back with an outstanding campaign and had a big impact on the team."

Honigstein adds: "He often played in the classic Leipzig formation, which is where you have two wide No.10s, behind two wide strikers.

"It's like a 4-2-2-2 formation and he would be in those attacking roles, but he can play more centrally too.

"He's probably a true No.10 at heart, but that role isn't always accommodated in modern football in terms of the actual position on the pitch. If you do forget the actual position but talk more about the impact and the playing style of a No.10, that is who he is.

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"He's somebody who plays the last pass, who joins up with the attack, who is very creative and a good dribbler as well. A classic attacking midfielder really."

How the Reds will utilise their newest midfield recruit in their line-up will become clear in the coming months, with Klopp believing he is a signing for both the long and short term.

"I think if we assume that we'll still see the classic Liverpool formation, which is sort of a 4-3-3, then he could play in both wide positions up front, or he could play in the No.8 slot behind, either left or right," Honigstein explains.

"He's more down to be a contender for that right No.8 berth, but he's probably slightly more dangerous coming in from the left, because then he can cut in onto his right foot and be more of a goal threat, or he can play a wider array of passes moving out to the left, having the whole game open up on his right."

Szoboszlai first experienced Anfield as an opposition player in 2019 and admitted he is counting the days until he strides out at the stadium for the Reds.

"He loves the contact with the supporters and is always looking to use that to his advantage," Schafer concludes.

"He can use the emotion of the game to spur himself on. He has the best right foot I have seen at Leipzig. He is a very intelligent player and if he can show his skills like we know he can, then Liverpool fans will love him."