LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Dominik Szoboszlai has been signed by Liverpool on a five-year, £60 million contract from RB Leipzig.
After Liverpool exercised his £60 million release clause to acquire him from RB Leipzig, the Hungary international agreed to a contract that would expire in June 2028. He’ll put on the number 8.
The second player to join Liverpool’s team since the end of the previous season, he represents a crucial piece of business along with Alexis Mac Allister, who relocated from Brighton at the beginning of June.
“It’s really, really good”, he told the official Liverpool website. “The past [few] days have been enjoyable, and I’m eager to get to know everyone better.
“The last three or four days went really long; it was not that easy. But at the end I’m here, I’m happy and I can’t wait to get started.
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“[A] really historic club, really good players, good coach, everything is good. For me it was perfect to make the next step in a club like this. The fans, the stadium, everything is really good.”
On why he picked the No 8 shirt, he revealed it was because he had a Gerrard tattoo after being a fan of the Reds legend growing up.
He said: “I have a tattoo from Steven Gerrard that was a reason why. When I was a child, to be honest I didn’t watch that much football, but when it was Champions League I watched, and he was one of the biggest (players).”
Liverpool coach, Klopp said he was excited about his new signing’s immediate and long-term impact.
He said: “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 realised that even at that stage he was a really interesting prospect.
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“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.
“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.”
He added: “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.”
