**Jamie Carragher has made the case that Dominik Szoboszlai is not best suited to playing in midfield as the debate rages over who Liverpool should play at right back.**
The opening two games of the Premier League season have exposed how weak the Reds are at right-back, with Jeremie Frimpong not fit for purpose and Conor Bradley still sidelined with a serious knee injury that required surgery in January.
Liverpool signed Ronald Araujo, who can do a job at right-back but would leave the Reds limited in buildup play. Then there’s Joe Gomez, who has proven that he is a very good right-back when needed, but his injury record makes him incredibly unreliable.
Szoboszlai was excellent at right-back last season, but the club didn’t learn their lessons and, by not signing a suitable upgrade on Frimpong and Bradley, have left them with almost no choice but to play Szoboszlai there or suffer the consequences of relying on Frimpong or another unsuitable alternative.
Speaking on [the Overlap](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMNEbKBeVKk), Carragher said: _“I’ve never believed Szoboszlai is a central midfield player. Now, he’s signed a new contract and I can only imagine in those talks, they were desperate for him to stay, he’s almost said “I want to play midfield”._
_“He’s moved around a bit and he started the season in central midfield. I don’t see him as that. For me, in midfield, he’s like a Jordan Henderson. Runner, energy, with more of a goal threat. But LFC don’t play that way and he’s not really a No 10._
_“His best role could actually be at right back. He’d get plenty of the ball, he can run and play that Trent (Alexander-Arnold) role. But there’s no way he’s going to want to play there, because he’s just signed a new contract for £350,000 a week. He’s the vice-captain._
_“That’s a conversation Iraola is going to have to have going forward, because the midfield is not right and he’s part of that midfield not being right.”_
As things stand, Liverpool look set to use Szoboszlai at right-back against Ipswich Town tonight, but I cannot imagine that the Hungarian will be happy about the situation.
He put pen to paper on a new long-term deal worth around £350,000 per week during the summer, but I doubt that playing at fullback was in his thinking.
You’d imagine that a player earning nearly £16m annually would be happy to do whatever it takes, but Szoboszlai is one of the best technicians in the world and will want to be used in a more attacking sense.
That said, whatever is best for the team has to come first.
Speaking ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Ipswich, Iraola told the press that he has received no indication from Szoboszlai that he will be unwilling to play at right-back.
The Spaniard said: _“Since I started here I’ve talked to a lot of players about their position, where they prefer to play._
_“But I haven’t found any situations where any player has told me: ‘No, I don’t want to play here’._
_“Everyone has shown the right attitude._
_“I know more or less the perfect position for everyone. Sometimes it’s the same, I think, from their \[perspective\]._
_“Sometimes I say, ‘OK, I see you maybe more here’, and we have discussions. But everyone is ready to help._
_“If we have to play him as a right winger, as a right-back, as a left-back, I think he’s ready to do it._
_“He wants to help the team first and it’s good also to have players who can cover different positions, especially now that we have some injuries._
_“We need this versatility from the players. Having players like Dom, for me, it’s very valuable, because in games they allow me to change not the players, but the positions.”_