1 year ago
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Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Jürgen Klopp is excited to have another young, exciting midfielder at Liverpool, but wants everyone to take a beat and let the player settle in before ramping up expectations
Liverpool are only a month and a half removed from a disappointing season that saw them never in the race for any hardware, but excitement abounds as the Reds have unveiled their second signing of the offseason in Dominik Szoboszlai. The exciting young Hungarian joins Alex Mac Alister as part of a midfield revamp for Jürgen Klopp and his might Reds.
For his part, Klopp is very excited to have a player of Szoboszlai’s caliber and potential in the squad. The manager saw first hand just how good he was when Liverpool took on Red Bull Salzburg in Champion’s League play a few seasons ago. In comments after Szoboszlai’s signing announcement, Klopp also pointed out the Hungarian’s leadership abilities as a huge positive.
We already have a little knowledge of Dominik as an opponent because we had a couple of really tough games against Red Bull Salzburg when he was a player there and I think everyone who saw those fixtures will have realized that even at that stage he was a really interesting prospect.
I’m pretty sure he was still a teenager at that time and since then he has made some big strides – moving to Leipzig, doing really, really well in the Bundesliga, playing for the Hungary national team and then becoming captain of his national team at an incredibly young age.
These are proper positives and this is even before we even think about his qualities as a footballer. I will not say too much about them at this stage except they are definitely the kind which will hopefully bring a lot of enjoyment and also help us to get results.
While Szoboszlai is certainly an exciting young player, and one who has established himself in both a top 5 league and at the international level, Klopp urges everyone to take a beat. Still only 22 years old, the German manager wants deflect pressure from the young midfielder and let him have time to grow into his role in the team. Along with doing his best to manage early expectations for Szoboszlai, Klopp also is taking responsibility for helping Liverpool’s new number 8 grow and progress.
There is no pressure, though. Dominik is still a very young player. He has so much development ahead of him and this means it makes sense for us all to be patient and to give him the time and space to allow his talent to come through within our team.
The good thing is we have supporters who understand this process. I know the fans are as excited as we are but I am also aware, because I have seen it many times already, that they will be a massive help to us in terms of creating the conditions that will allow Dominik to thrive.
From the clubs he has been at, the leagues he has played in and the family he is part of, it is very clear that he has already had an outstanding football education, so our responsibility now is to continue this education with him as part of the Liverpool family.
Despite urging caution, Klopp is obviously excited to have a second key signing of the summer. There are definitely expectations that Szoboszlai will have an early role, and will be a player that the Reds plan around for the long term.
Everything about this is good news and I am very grateful to everyone at the club who has contributed to making it happen. This is a signing for our present and also for our future and the work that has gone into it could not be more appreciated.
