Whether Liverpool challenge for the Premier League title next season depends on a number of factors, many of which will be determined by the Reds’ success in the summer transfer window.
Cost does not equate to success in the modern market, as Arne Slot and co found out last year, with Liverpool spending a record sum, in excess of £400m, on flashy new players after winning the league title.
Additions are needed in midfield and attack, but moving away from the rumors for a moment, the success of tying down Dominik Szoboszlai to a new long-term contract must feel as exciting as a big buy.
Why Szoboszlai’s new Liverpool contract is like a signing
When the pearly gates open every summer, a kind of frenzy takes hold in football’s corner of social media, with fans clamoring for the glitzy new signing.
Liverpool is no different, and while, for example, Bradley Barcola remains the top target of the Anfield club, Szoboszlai’s new contract could actually be the most important success at the start of the Iraola era.
Last season, Szoboszlai who played in the first division was the difference between disappointment and disaster for the Reds, nominated as the Player of the Year in white, head and shoulders above his colleagues, scoring great goals, leading and influencing, playing in any position.
Liverpool need to sign a midfielder or two this summer, especially as Curtis Jones continues to be linked with a move to Inter Milan, but Szoboszlai will now continue to thrive as the club’s talisman, hoping to develop once he is slotted into a more regular role in the middle of the park.
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Szoboszlai’s 2025/26 season at Liverpool by Position |
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Position |
Applications |
Terms + Help |
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Field attack |
16 |
1 + 4 |
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In the middle of nowhere |
15 |
4 + 6 |
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The winner is right |
11 |
4 + 1 |
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Right back |
10 |
3 + 0 |
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Center-forward |
1 |
1 + 1 |
If the Reds hope to challenge for the Premier League title next term, they will need Szoboszlai on his A-game again, but the Hungarian captain’s life will be made much easier with strong options around him, feeding into Andoni Iraola’s new regime.
Liverpool made Szoboszlai’s dream team-mate
Szoboszlai is a wonderful midfielder, but he is not an outfield player, and that is a position Liverpool could do with strengthening this summer.
FSG has only one person in mind. According to Football Transfers, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton has emerged as Liverpool’s first target, having cooled interest in Joao Gomes ahead of the Brazilian’s proposed transfer from Wolves to Aston Villa.
Interest from many clubs in Wharton has waned since the end of the season, which surprisingly coincided with the Three Lions’ World Cup campaign in which the 23-year-old did not feature.
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England World Cup Quiz
You scored a goal
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Sources claim that Palace want at least £100m for their star player, citing various other midfield moves currently being made. It would be a lot of money – and FSG will try to fix it – but the Reds will secure the perfect profile in the engine room to cooperate with Szoboszlai and his partners in Iraola’s plan.
A pure passer, Wharton has the rare ability to open up the backline with his attacking weapons. He was adding a dimension to Iraola’s system, at Bournemouth which relied on sharp cogs in midfield, playing up front.
Described as a “cheat code” by commentator Ben Mattinson for his range of passes, there is something Xabi Alonso-esque about the England international, silky and measured in attacking the ball forward, measuring his passes well, always considering smart and intelligent choices.
He will be a suitable counterweight for Szoboszlai, who has made a name for himself with Steven Gerrard’s performances at Liverpool last year. This will give Liverpool’s new coach the kind of smoothness, a combination of physicality and control, that can win them titles.
Wharton may cost a pretty penny, but the market for midfielders is oversaturated at the moment, and he would fit the bill to bring Liverpool back into title contention.
