The former Liverpool bargain signing Dominik Szoboszlai is perfect replacement for under Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool signing Alexis Mac Allister hardly came as a surprise after the lengthy talks between the two parties pointed to only one clear direction — a long-awaited midfield signing at Anfield. But just as the dust settled around the Argentinian’s arrival, out flew Dominik Szoboszlai like an unexpected encore act.

Rumours had briefly swirled but Jurgen Klopp’s foot must have been firmly planted on the accelerator, as it was soon announced as a done deal and the cash had been slammed down on the table so hard it caused ripples in the Mersey. Now, the Reds have two highly impressive new recruits to add to their engine room and there’s a growing, infectious buzz around what this team could achieve next season.

Yes, Liverpool have been here before. Their midfield has been an ongoing problem for quite some time now — like an old phone charger you definitely should have replaced weeks ago but instead of buying a new one, you just keep unplugging it, plugging it back in, and wiggling it around until it works again because well... it still works, doesn’t it?

Plenty of midfielders have tried to get the wires working again in Liverpool’s midfield over the years. Naby Keïta - whose greatest contribution was perhaps the revelation that his name was prone to be autocorrected to ‘Baby Keith’ - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, even Takumi Minamino who was tried in almost every non-defensive position on the pitch. And let’s not forget the pipe dream of Ben Woodburn, now of Preston North End, becoming Steven Gerrard 2.0.

In short, it’s been a long time since Liverpool had a midfielder capable of really contributing to creative play with defence-splitting runs and those beautiful, consistent long-range strikes. It’s okay to say it, everyone’s healed by now — Philippe Coutinho truly was a wizard in a Liverpool shirt, and sadly, the Reds have seen only mere traces of that kind of magic since he left.

Fans will remember the young-faced Brazilian arrive from Inter Milan for the small fee of £8.5 million and blossom into a true force to be reckoned with. They’ll also remember the rollercoaster of emotions leading up to and following his departure to Barcelona, which saw the club pocket more than £130 million in profit. It cushioned the blow in a way, I suppose, especially as it eventually led to the purchases of both Virgil van Dijk and Alisson.

However, despite the crucial signings Liverpool gained through the Coutinho money, they still lost a very important player and have struggled to replace him. Up until now, perhaps. Could the summer of 2023 finally prove to be the window where Liverpool get that midfield magic back? Szoboszlai could well be the piece to the puzzle they have been searching for all these years.

The first thing to note about Szoboszlai is that he isn’t afraid to shoot from range, which is already a huge green flag. In fact, according to The Athletic, his daring attempts on goals played a part in the decision to bring him to Anfield. You can already hear the Peter Drury exclamation followed by a Greek mythology reference when Szoboszlai’s smashes his first goal from outside the box into the back of the net.

When Liverpool are at their best, they play molten, liquid football. Fluid and flowing, setting one of the front three up for a close-range finish after evading a sea of bewildered opposition coloured shirts. What they need for the more stubborn defensive set-ups though is a player who can catch goalkeepers off guard and threaten from deep.

Oxlade-Chamberlain had this in his locker and was more than capable of unleashing the odd screamer from outside the box — most memorably against Manchester City back in 2018 — but his overall performances were too inconsistent to make him a midfield mainstay. Injuries also hampered the Ox’s time in red and he was sidelined for more than 500 days over the course of his six-year tenure.

Szoboszlai is unquestionably more than capable of bringing back those sumptuous long-range goals. As analysed by Opta, the Hungarian registered 36 shots outside the box for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga last season, only Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sané had more (37). It’s also worth nothing that Szoboszlai’s attempts outside the box were higher than Trent Alexander-Arnold’s tally, which will make for a killer combo when it comes to free-kicks next season.

Sky Sports also compared Szoboszlai’s stats from the 2022/23 season to all of Liverpool’s midfielders, and unsurprisingly, he ranked highest for goals scored, assists made, shots on target, chances created and passes played into the box. If there was a time to get excited, it is surely now.

Szoboszlai’s overall threat in front of goal did not go unrecognised either, as he was also heavily supplied by his teammates throughout last season. Only Joshua Kimmich (992) received more open play passes in the opposition half than the 22-year-old (850). Despite his decent height - a factor that could have rendered him ungainly - Szoboszlai is also confident when carrying the ball forward — only four attacking players in the Bundesliga travelled further with the ball, or made more carries than Liverpool’s newest recruit (384 carries over 4,403m).

Additionally, the fact Szoboszlai will wear the No.8 shirt adds a certain, undeniable romance to the acquisition. Alright, Keïta’s time in that number left a lot to be desired, but it was always going to be a tough gig as the first man to wear it since Gerrard.

There is a lot of excitement building around Szoboszlai’s capability, though. Maybe he will take some time to adapt and he’ll need to ease himself in, or maybe he will come bursting out the blocks and show Klopp exactly what he’s been missing all this time. Of course, everyone is hoping it will be the latter, so they can start to forget the years of frustrating while watching a creaking, often below-par midfield fail to connect a world class attack and defensive line.

We won’t know the Hungarian star’s true ability in red until he’s out there with the rest of the team but so far, it really seems as though he is the man to provide the spark that’s been missing since Coutinho left.