One of Liverpool’s summer signings has made an immediate impression on Paul Merson.
Of the four players brought in by the Reds during the transfer window, Dominik Szoboszlai was the most expensive at £60m (BBC Sport), but the Hungarian hasn’t taken long to earn glowing praise from the Sky Sports pundit.
Merson used his weekly Premier League predictions column for Sportskeeda to single out the 22-year-old for commendation, writing: “I’m a massive fan of Dominik Szoboszlai. He covered every blade of grass when Liverpool were under the cosh last weekend against Newcastle United.
“He is full of energy, gets up and down the pitch, doesn’t moan about anything and is the kind of player any manager needs. He has been their best midfield player so far this season.”
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The statistics from last Sunday’s win at Newcastle illustrates why Merson has been so effusive in his praise of Szoboszlai’s performance that day.
As per Sofascore, no Liverpool player won more tackles (three) or duels (nine) than the £120,000-per week midfielder (Capology), who also proved his worth in possession by completing 84% of his passes and a team-high three dribbles.
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His workload was increased by the Reds being a player short for just over an hour at St James’ Park following Virgil van Dijk’s red card, but he diligently stuck to the task and was something of an unsung hero in Jurgen Klopp’s side securing a memorable win.
On the whole, Szoboszlai has had a fine start to life at Anfield, with WhoScored metrics ranking him as LFC’s fourth-best player in the early weeks of the campaign, trailing only Mo Salah, Alisson and Luis Diaz.
He’s fully deserved the praise which has come his way from Merson, and we’ve every confidence that the 22-year-old will turn his initial good impression into a sure-fire consistency which’ll make him one of Liverpool’s star performers throughout the season and beyond.
#Ep88 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️