This summer, Liverpool essentially had a free hand in acquiring Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig.
Szoboszlai, who easily adapted into the Reds midfield, has so far been one of the Premier League acquisitions of the year. Steve Nicol described the Hungary captain as “phenomenal” following his performance this past weekend [ESPN].
Given that Liverpool paid a fair £60 million for him, the 23-year-old’s performances have made many wonder why other teams did not make a stronger offer for him. Fortunately, that response and a few more can be found in a piece published by The Athletic this morning.
The report examines why the Reds passed on Mason Mount, their first top target, and instead turned to Szoboszlai. As usual, it appears that Liverpool’s spending plan was a major factor.
It is reported that Szoboszlai earns about £120k per week, whereas Mount supposedly earns £200k per week at Manchester United, with the possibility of earning £250k per week.
In light of this, it appears that the Reds were content to forgo the Hungarian’s £60.1 million release clause. This is a release clause, thus Leipzig would need to get payment all at once rather than over time. This is supposed to have played a major role in discouraging other clubs from applying, of whom there were allegedly “many.” Liverpool consequently had a free run at Szoboszlai.
Liverpool invests heavily in Szobo
It’s quite evident that Mount, not Szoboszlai, would have been the Reds’ marquee midfield addition had they had their way at first.
Although we believe Mount is better than what he has demonstrated thus far at Manchester United, Liverpool currently appear to have avoided a bullet.
If the former Chelsea player had been eager to leave Old Trafford for Anfield, there would have been no Szoboszlai transfer.
Their transfer fees ended up being comparable. Nonetheless, the Reds must have found it appealing that Mount’s expense could be dispersed over several years. Together with Alexis Mac Allister, the Englishman was the primary objective.
Dom would not have had any room.
Fortunately, Mount had other plans. It suddenly made far more sense to pay Szoboszlai the lump payment given the amount of wages they were planning to save.
Although it seemed like Newcastle United wanted to follow suit, they were unable to compete with Liverpool.
The Reds have so at last found the Steven Gerrard heir they have been looking for. A few teams may be wishing they had taken a risk on Szoboszlai themselves, considering the sums of money spent on other midfield players this summer. We’ve got him now, too late.
