Dominik Szoboszlai was all smiles after a weekend run in Nashville. Liverpool have just beaten Sunderland 4-2 in a pre-season friendly and the Hungarian started with the intention of continuing to play under manager Andoni Iraola.
It’s the beginning of a new era, and there’s a nervous excitement in the air. Iraola has a proven track record in the Premier League and his tactics should suit football fans who want to watch the Reds play. His rock’n’roll approach is a far cry from the dulcet tones of Arne Slot’s measured approach.
The players will have to adapt, but Szoboszlai is already showing signs of bouncing back from an extraordinary season in 2025/26. He will hope to have a strong supporting cast around him this time as he solidifies his place as one of the club’s outstanding leaders.
Why Szoboszlai is taking steps towards becoming Liverpool captain
This is the end for Virgil van Dijk, whose contract with Liverpool expires at the end of this season. He will leave a legacy behind and his departure will leave a vacant captaincy at Anfield.
With Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson leaving the club this summer, Iraola has already decided who will be his vice-captain for next season. Soboszlai will definitely be one of them. Last season, Salah said he had developed into “one of the best players in the world”.
Iraola must be salivating at the idea of having such a robust and physical midfielder at the heart of his developing system. Szoboszlai put the team in the spotlight with his powerful strike against Sunderland.
As Salah has already claimed, after such an excellent campaign in difficult circumstances, there is a sense that the Hungarian captain can start next year and establish himself as one of Europe’s best players.
It’s worth noting that he was very impressive last year when the slot put him in so many positions. He continued to impress throughout, emboldening his teammates to sweep the Player of the Season award.
View Szoboszlai’s 2025/26 season at Liverpool by position | ||
|---|---|---|
position | app | Goal + Assist |
attacking midfield | 16 | 1+4 |
central midfield | 15 | 4+6 |
right wing | 11 | 4+1 |
right full back | 10 | 3+0 |
center forward | 1 | 1+1 |
Szoboszlai may become the leader of this group of players in the future, but there is no guarantee that he will defend his Anfield Player of the Year crown.
This is a rejuvenated bunch and the players should be fresh and hungry to get back to title-winning heights.
The likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirths will be hoping to achieve the nine-figure sums paid to bring them to England last year, but Liverpool could sign an even bigger-money attacker to compete for the talismanic role vacated by Salah at the end of 2025/26.
Liverpool’s highest target could surpass Szoboszlai
Szoboszlai will cement his place as a key player in the Premier League, but he is not a forward and Liverpool need someone to replace Salah’s goals and his aura at Anfield.
Among them, Liverpool could reject a contract extension and sign Paris Saint-Germain superstar Bradley Barcola, who has emerged as Liverpool’s top target this summer.
According to recent continental reports, Liverpool have reached an agreement in principle with the Frenchman, who is one of the club’s highest-paid players, and will pen a contract until 2032.
PSG want a £145m deal, which is far too much for any club in their right mind to pay for a rising star like Barcola who is not yet a finished product. But the 23-year-old wants a chance to become a central player and Liverpool could give him that chance.
Admittedly, Barcola prefers to play on the left rather than the right wing, but he has the makings of a world-class goalscorer and has the potential to surpass Szoboszlai as the biggest change-maker in the team. In fact, over the past calendar year, he has totaled 0.50 xG per 90 minutes. This is the best of any winger competing in Europe’s top five leagues.
He may be a bit of a waste, but at least he’s gaining promising positions with frightening regularity. And despite being such a “prodigal” player, he has scored 34 goals in his last two seasons with PSG, winning the Champions League in both years.
This bodes well, especially considering the manager will be playing under Iraola, who is known for his success in raising the profile of his players and bringing out every quality in his players’ skill sets. Antoine Semenyo stands as a testament. Manchester City’s enthusiastic winger is also made from similar fabric.
If Barcola can fine-tune his attacking abilities and become a more consistent scorer, Liverpool could very well sign a world-class forward, someone who could actually replace Salah, something that was unthinkable when the Egyptian announced his departure a year before the end of his contract. It always felt like an impossible task, but through Barcola, FSG was able to accomplish just that.
With that in mind, Barcola could rival the likes of Szoboszlai next season, becoming Liverpool’s star player and player of the year, strengthening Iraola’s side and leading them to the title.
