Dominik Szoboszlai is aware that competition is increasing at Liverpool with the impending arrival of Florian Wirtz, but he has stressed he won’t “give up my place that easily.”
The 24-year-old was the workhorse for Arne Slot‘s side throughout the 2024/25 season, with his tireless performances underlined whenever he was not in the side.
It is not the powerful midfield goalscorer Liverpool supporters expected but his out-of-possession work makes him a valuable asset in the middle of the pitch.
However, the looming arrival of Wirtz has seen speculation that his place in the side is under threat, even with Slot tweaking his role late in the season.
With all eyes on Liverpool’s statement transfer, it was put to Szoboszlai at an end-of-season event with his agency that Wirtz could make it hard for him to be named in the XI.
He was emphatic in his response, via oghuncrew, saying: “Well, if you say that my situation will be made more difficult, then let’s wait and see what happens after pre-season.
File photo dated 05-07-2024 of Florian Wirtz. Premier League champions Liverpool have agreed a club-record deal worth up to £116million to sign Florian Wirtz after Bayer Leverkusen finally settled on a fee for their playmaker. Issue date: Friday June 13, 2025.
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“In the end, you might be right, but I don’t give up my place that easily and I think he knows that getting into a Premier League-winning team takes work.”
Then pressed on if he is at all ‘afraid’ of the German’s arrival, Szoboszlai said: “No, No.
“Of course, if they buy a player for €150 million, it’s likely that they won’t keep him on the bench, but then we have to find the opportunity for the two of us to play together.”
An emphatic response and one you would expect from Szoboszlai, who is as aware as us that there is room for him and Wirtz to be named in the same lineup.
• READ: Szoboszlai can retain key Liverpool role despite Wirtz arrival
There are options aplenty, including Szoboszlai dropping deeper into a No. 8 role, as we saw at the end of the season, or operating as part of a double-10 as we saw Slot deploy at Man City.
Wirtz’s arrival offers Liverpool greater versatility and unpredictability, which will lend itself to affording players more rest as Slot grows to trust his rotation options.
Not to mention the new competition that this squad missed out on last summer.