Arne Slot says exactly what he thinks of Dominik Szoboszlai and Liverpool fans are starting to agree

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Dominik Szoboszlai has not always been a universally popular player since his arrival at Liverpool in 2023.

Signed for £60m from RB Leipzig and taking the No. 8 shirt still carrying the weight of Steven Gerrard’s name, big things were expected of the Hungarian.

Initially, Szoboszlai delivered in spectacular fashion, dominating the midfield and scoring goals Gerrard himself would have been proud of.

However, a dip in form soon followed, and although the 24-year-old has shown plenty of good things in the two years since, there has remained a feeling that Liverpool have not quite been seeing the best of him.

After another superb performance for the Reds on Wednesday night, that is now quickly starting to change. Szoboszlai hit a goal and an assist and generally ran the show against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.

Having been the only midfielder to survive from Liverpool’s losses against Chelsea and Man United, it was a show of faith by Arne Slot to keep his No. 8 in there. Szoboszlai repaid his boss and then some, and Slot made a key point about the goal scorer after the match.

Dominik Szoboszlai is one of Arne Slot’s absolute key men

Liverpool fans have been summing up their feelings over Szoboszlai with a fairly appropriate sentiment this season.

The perception is that the Hungary captain may not necessarily be in every supporters’ starting Liverpool XI at any one time, but if a Champions League final were to be played tomorrow, he would almost certainly be in the team.

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If that final were to arrive under Slot, then you can bet your bottom dollar that Szoboszlai would be in the XI.

The former Leipzig man is yet to miss a minute in the Premier League and Champions League this season and his status in the Liverpool starting line-up is growing with every week.

This was something Slot pointed out at full-time, comparing Szoboszlai’s importance to that of captain Virgil van Dijk and talisman Mohamed Salah.

“Since I’m here, he’s one of the players that, maybe after Virgil and Mo, has played the most minutes for me. That tells you what I think about him,” the Liverpool head coach said in his post-match press conference.

After witnessing another midfield masterclass in Frankfurt, Liverpool fans are starting to think the same.

Liverpool’s midfield can be built around Szoboszlai

Szoboszlai will turn 25 this Saturday and can no longer be thought of as a player whose best years are firmly in front of him.

Coming into his peak, the hairband wearing Hungarian looks ready to step up and lead Liverpool’s midfield.

It has been a struggle for Slot to find the balance in the middle of the pitch this season after Florian Wirtz’s arrival disrupted last year’s title-winning trio.

However, an equilibrium appeared to have been struck on Wednesday, as Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones gave a platform for Wirtz to do some of his best work in a Liverpool shirt.

The likelihood of the three players starting again at Brentford on Saturday may be dependent on Ryan Gravenberch’s fitness. But whether the Dutchman is ready or not, you can say with some confidence that Szoboszlai will be out there once again.