The real reason Liverpool had a free run at signing Dominik Szoboszlai this summer

Add as preferred source on Google

Liverpool had pretty much a free run at signing Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig this summer.

Szoboszlai has so far been one of the Premier League signings of the year having slotted seamlessly into the Reds midfield. As Steve Nicol said after the Hungary captain’s display this weekend, he’s been ‘phenomenal’ [ESPN].

With Liverpool having signed him for a reasonable £60m, the 23-year-old’s displays have thrown up the question of why no other clubs pushed especially hard for him. Luckily, The Athletic have provided that answer – and a few others – in a report this morning.

The report analyses why the Reds turned to Szoboszlai after missing out on initial top target Mason Mount. As ever, it seems as though Liverpool’s budget played a big part.

With Mount reportedly banking £200k-a-week rising to £250k-a-week at Manchester United, Szoboszlai is claimed to be taking home around half of that on £120k-a-week.

With that in mind, it seems as though the Reds were happy to bite the bullet on the Hungarian’s £60.1m release clause. Being a release clause, this would have to be paid to Leipzig up-front rather than in instalments. This is said to have been key in putting off other interested clubs – of which there are said to have been ‘many.’ As a result, Liverpool had a free run at Szoboszlai.

Liverpool spend big on Szobo

It’s pretty clear that had the Reds initially had their way, it would have been Mount, not Szoboszlai, brought in as their blockbuster midfield addition.

Although we think Mount is better than what he’s so far shown at Man United, that now looks like a dodged bullet for Liverpool.

Had the former Chelsea man been keen on a switch to Anfield over Old Trafford, a move for Szoboszlai surely wouldn’t have come about.

In the end, their transfer fees were similar. But the ability to spread the cost of Mount over a number of years will have appealed to the Reds. The England man was the top target alongside Alexis Mac Allister.

There would have been no room for Dom.

Thankfully though, Mount had other ideas. Given what they were set to save on wages, paying the lump sum for Szoboszlai suddenly made much more sense.

Newcastle United were also seemingly interested in doing the same, but couldn’t compete with Liverpool.

And so, the Reds finally got the Steven Gerrard heir they’ve been searching for. Given the fees paid out for other midfielders this summer, some clubs must be wishing they’d have taken a chance on Szoboszlai themselves. Too late now, he’s ours.