It’s been a bit of a rough season for Liverpool.
The Reds were coming off a Premier League title and spent €482.9m on transfers during the summer window, only to be fighting for fourth place at the halfway point in the season.
There has been a ton of drama around Mo Salah, and most of the new signings, like Alexander Isak, Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, and Milos Kerkez, have not lived up to their price tags.
There is one player, though, who has very quietly become Arne Slot’s most important player, and it’s not someone who was signed during the summer.
Dominik Szoboszlai has played about every available minute he possibly could have this season as an attacking midfielder, right-back, defensive midfielder, and right winger.
He does absolutely everything for Liverpool, and Slot needs him in the starting XI every single week.
Coming into the season with the signing of Wirtz, it seemed that Szoboszlai’s place in the team may have been in question, since Wirtz was going to be taking over as the main number 10.
Because of Szoboszlai’s versatility, he proved himself not only to be a regular starter but has now become the Reds’ most important player.
In this Dominik Szoboszlai scout report, we will take a look at why Dominik Szoboszlai has become Liverpool’s most important player, how he’s used in build-up, how he’s used in the final third, and his data.
Dominik Szoboszlai Importance
It’s easy to sit here and say that Dominik Szoboszlai’s importance for Liverpool comes down to his versatility, but it’s so much more than that.
It’s not that he’s versatile; it’s that he plays each position at an elite level, which makes Arne Slot’s life a whole lot easier.
You’ll remember early in the season, when both right-back options, Conor Bradley and Frimpong, were out and Liverpool were in crisis, that Szoboszlai stepped in and was just as good.
Dominik Szoboszlai can really do everything as a footballer.
He’s one of the truly rare players who can play any position and play it at a high level.
What really sets him apart and makes him so important to Liverpool is his passing.
Outside of Virgil van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai has the most progressive passes, passes into the final third, and completed long passes.
He does all of this while also having the most touches for Liverpool in the final third.
His passing range is incredible, having completed 64% of his long passes with diagonal balls like this.
He is also Liverpool’s free-kick and corner taker, which has been important because he’s scored one goal and has three assists from them this season.
This example against Brentford is probably a perfect example of what he means to Liverpool.
Here, he sprints all the way from the right half-space to press the right back, so Bradley can stay back and pick off the pass.
He then fires it to a wide-open Mo Salah for a goal.
With all of the injuries and drama, having Dominik Szoboszlai be able to slot in at right wing for Mo Salah, right-back for Bradley, and play as a natural number 10 when Wirtz is struggling has been incredibly valuable in keeping Liverpool afloat this season.
Dominik Szoboszlai In Build-Up
No matter what position he is playing, Dominik Szoboszlai is crucial for Liverpool’s build-up down the right-hand side of the pitch.
As you can see from his heatmap this season, he has pretty much occupied every blade of grass down the right-hand side.
Dominik Szoboszlai Heat Map At Liverpool 2025/2026
If he’s playing as a right-back or right winger, he’ll always stay deep in build-up and move more towards the inside to help Ryan Gravenberch, and that will also allow Alexis Mac Allister to play a more advanced position.
What this often does is if Florian Wirtz is playing as the number 10, Liverpool can create a box midfield to help them play through the middle of the opposition.
If he’s playing as the main number 10, he will almost always drop deep in build-up because he is Liverpool’s most press-resistant midfielder, which takes a lot of pressure off of Gravenberch, who throughout all of last season had to play as a single pivot.
There are even times, like this instance against Brentford, where Szoboszlai will play as the single pivot to allow the other two midfielders to push up and create a 4-1-2-3 build-up, which can make Liverpool hard to press.
The main point is this: wherever he is needed, Szoboszlai will play that role, find pockets of space, and be a key cog in Liverpool playing out of the back.
Dominik Szoboszlai In The Final Third
He does mainly like to hang out in the right half-space, but Dominik Szoboszlai is pretty much roaming everywhere in the final third, trying to find pockets of space to get on the ball.
Liverpool have had a problem this season in the left half-space because Hugo Ekitike, Wirtz, and Mac Allister all feel most comfortable there, and it often gets crowded.
Without Dominik Szoboszlai, there isn’t a natural attacking midfielder who is comfortable consistently playing in that right half-space.
So, it doesn’t matter if he’s playing as the 10, as the right-back, or as a right winger; Dominik Szoboszlai will always drift inside and allow the right-back or right winger playing alongside him to provide the width.
His leading role in the final third is that of the conductor.
You’ll often see him trying to control the tempo, dropping deep close to the centerbacks to get on the ball and connect the play to allow the rest of Liverpool’s attackers either push up to the last line of defense or find space in between the lines.
Or, like this instance against Brentford, acting as the lone attacker, dropping deep to help Liverpool create an overload on the Bees’ backline.
You’ll also see him attack the last line of defence when he has the chance, with his goal against Leeds recently being a good example of that.
Dominik Szoboszlai Data
The data will show that Dominik Szoboszlai really fits the bill as the perfect number eight, getting on the ball at an incredibly high rate, progressing the ball at an elite level, and being a really good ball-winner.
Dominik Szoboszlai Pizza Chart 2025/2026
You can see how high his passing numbers are, but it’s the other stats that set him apart.
He leads Liverpool with 22 dribblers tackled, 98 ball recoveries, 53 shot-creating actions, 12 shots on target, 96 crosses, five assists, 21 fouls, and five yellow cards.
That is doing absolutely everything for your team.
Because he was mainly playing as a number 10 last season, his underlying numbers in front of the net have dropped pretty significantly.
Last season, he had a 0.53 xG + xA per 90-minute rate, while this season, that has dropped to 0.26.
It’s to be expected, though, with all of the new signings in Liverpool’s attack, which has pretty much forced Szoboszlai into a new role, in which he is actually flourishing.
Conclusion
This season has not gone the way Liverpool planned, but their form has been improving over the recent months as they have gone unbeaten in eight straight matches.
That recent run has moved them back up into fourth place, but they are still 12 points behind league leaders Arsenal.
If you stop for a moment and picture what this Liverpool team would be like without Dominik Szoboszlai, it would be a complete disaster.
They would have had no right back during their injury crisis or no right winger when Mo Salah left for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Not to mention a stable, press-resistant midfielder who can roam into both deeper and more advanced positions on the field is rare to find.
As the season goes along, it will be interesting to see what Szoboszlai’s role is going to be.
In their recent match against Leeds, Wirtz moved out to the left wing with Szoboszlai playing as a natural number 10.
What I know to be a fact is that he will fill whatever role is needed for Arne Slot and play it at a high level.
Liverpool has an important match against Fulham on Sunday, followed by a massive match at the Emirates against Arsenal.
Szoboszlai had the match-winning free kick in the previous match against Arsenal and will likely play a crucial role if the Reds can get a result against the league leaders.
