According to reports from Germany, RB Leipzig managed to extract an extra few million from Liverpool for Dominik Szoboszlai due to a cleverly-worked rejigging of his release clause.
BILD reported that the Bundesliga club have bankrolled €70m (£60m) from the transfer, which is €15m (£12.8m) more than his original release clause.
When he signed for the Red Bull-owned outfit in January 2021, he penned a deal until 2026 which included that initial clause, but a long-term injury meant that he didn’t play until the following season.
Nonetheless, that summer saw Leipzig extend his contract as they were so convinced of his ability, and that decision has now come back to reward Marco Rose’s side.
That’s because, under the terms of the new deal, the release clause was ‘dynamically inclined’, i.e. moved back by one year so that it would expire this summer rather than in 2022, in what BILD described as an astute ‘trick’.
Had it not been for that crafty piece of fine print, Liverpool could’ve signed Szoboszlai for roughly 20% less than the actual price paid for him.
You have to hand it to Leipzig – that was a very clever piece of work by those tasked with handling their contractual affairs, even if it did require a massive leap of faith seeing as the Hungarian hadn’t played for the club at the time it was agreed.
They must’ve been wholly convinced by what they saw of him at sister outfit Red Bull Salzburg prior to his move to the Bundesliga, and their standpoint was justified based on what he produced in Germany, where he claimed 42 goal contributions in 91 appearances (Transfermarkt).
He also earned a reputation as a player with an exceptional work ethic, as evidenced by testimonies from his former coach Gerhard Struber and some close confidantes of Jurgen Klopp who briefed the Liverpool manager before the recent transfer to Anfield.
If the Reds had managed to sign Szoboszlai for just £47.2m, that would’ve represented a seriously sharp piece of business, but such is the 22-year-old’s promise that even the reported £60m investment seems like it’ll be money well spent.