A lot can go wrong with a departmental overhaul in the summer, though it’s fair to say that Liverpool’s new signings appear to have taken very well to their new lives in Merseyside.
Perhaps none quite as well as Dominik Szoboszlai (on a reported £120,000-a-week, according to Capology), who earned some serious praise from Mike Hughes for his dynamic first four league games for the Merseysiders, culminating with a phenomenal long-range effort against Aston Villa to set the tone in the opening three minutes of action.
“Dominik Szoboszlai has made a fantastic start to life at Anfield,” the pundit told BBC Radio Merseyside (via BBC Sport).
“In the home match with Bournemouth he won a penalty and cracked in the ferocious drive that led to Diogo Jota’s close-range finish for the third goal.
“Then it was his left-foot rocket from the edge of the penalty area that set the tone for an enthralling performance and an emphatic victory against Aston Villa.
“He is athletic and assured. Blessed with guile and grace, he has a desire and a work rate that’s really endearing him to fans.”
If anything – barring concern over the severity of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s hamstring injury – the international break might not have come at the best time for a side evidently enjoying a good run of form.
READ MORE: Adam Lallana may have cost Liverpool 10/10 summer transfer window
If Ryan Gravenberch can equally take to life in Liverpool as well as his fellow new midfielders, we won’t be short of legs nor dynamism in the middle of the park for the next decade or so, let alone the foreseeable future.
A successful Liverpool midfield rebuild?
It remains to be seen where exactly Jurgen Klopp envisions his latest Dutch signing filing out for the club given his ability to, theoretically, play both as a No.6 and No.8, though none can question the latter role was almost designed for Szoboszlai.
Building on Jordan Henderson’s role, which also involved effectively tracking back to plug a hole in the right-back slot when our No.66 goes on his marauding runs, and blending it with technical ability and pace, the Hungarian skipper looks an absolute force of nature in the middle of the park.
The frightening thing (for our upcoming opponents at least) is that he can, and will, only get better.
#Ep89 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️