Dominik Szoboszlai has demonstrated that he has the stomach for the fight with his latest quotes following his £60 million move from RB Leipzig.
The midfielder became Jurgen Klopp‘s second signing of the summer after the Reds triggered a release clause in the Hungarian’s contract shortly before the June 30 deadline that had been set.
He follows Alexis Mac Allister through the door at Anfield, with the World Cup winner’s arrival being confirmed shortly after the conclusion of 2022/23.
Newcastle were also said to have expressed an interest in the player, but reports suggest that Szoboszlai’s preference was to join Liverpool despite the Magpies being able to offer Champions League football next season.
The 22-year-old insisted that the Reds’ failure to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since 2016 was not a deal-breaker in making the switch, revealing that he is happy to “sacrifice” a year at the top table in favour of trying to win the Europa League.
“As soon as I heard that it was a serious matter, I didn’t think about the Champions League. I will gladly sacrifice a year,” the midfielder explained during a press conference he held with his father in Hungary, as quoted by Nemzeti Sport.
“Instead, I will try to win the Europa League with Liverpool because that is the goal.”
It is a philosophy that will please the manager, who remarked early in his Anfield career that he is not interested in players who are simply only prepared to help when the Reds are competing in the Champions League.
“If somebody says: ‘no, you don’t play Champions League next year’ then goodbye and thank you, have fun next year wherever you will be,” Klopp said in 2016.
“That is what I would say. It is pushing the train, not jumping on the running train. That is what we need here.”
Next season will be the first time Liverpool haven’t taken part in the Champions League in seven seasons, with Klopp’s side demonstrating their European pedigree during that time by reaching three finals within the space of five years.
It is an understandable stance for the manager to adopt given the Reds’ recent performances in the competition and the fact it will soon become even easier to qualify for upon its expansion in 2024/25.
Szoboszlai is ready for the challenge and he looks to have the exact mentality we need in order to carry us through to this next phase of Klopp’s Liverpool.
