It was a sliding doors moment.
Had RB Leipzig not gotten in touch with Liverpool to discuss a deal for Fabio Carvalho, Dominik Szoboszlai would now not be playing for the Reds.
It is as simple as that.
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Liverpool had mapped out their midfield rebuild.
Jurgen Klopp, Pep Lijnders, Barry Hunter, Dave Fallows, Jorg Schmadtke and the departing Julian Ward all had a part to play in it.
Ward, for example, had used his connections with Alexis Mac Allister’s agent to ensure the Reds had jumped ahead of others in the race to sign the World Cup winner and then Jurgen Klopp helped seal the deal with the player and his father.
Schmadtke was handling negotiations during this period as interim Sporting Director. Lijnders, Hunter and Fallows would all offer insight and opinion. Klopp would do what he did best; he’d sell players on the idea of playing for the club.
The Midfield Rebuild for Liverpool
The Reds needed to rebuild their engine room. Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner all departed on free transfers while the club knew they needed to find long-term replacements for Jordan Henderson and Fabinho as they looked to ease the workload on the duo.
The pair had struggled during the 2022/23 season and needed their minutes managed. Heading into the summer, there were no plans to sell either of them.
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Along with Mac Allister, the Reds had earmarked Orkun Kokcu as the man to revamp their middle third. The Turkey international had just captained Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title under Arne Slot and had impressed with his all-action displays. He finished the campaign with eight goals and two assists in the Dutch top-flight.
Why Orkun Kokcu?
Klopp had spoken to Kokcu and his entourage in May, detailing what his plans were for the player and how he would fit in at Anfield. The versatile midfielder was sold on the idea and, in the eyes of many involved in this deal, the move to Merseyside was a formality.
Ryan Gravenberch was lined up, too. The Dutchman was viewed as an undervalued talent with the potential to be just as dominant as Jude Bellingham. The move to Bayern Munich hadn’t panned out but Klopp especially thought in the right environment, he could flourish.
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He had reps at the AXA training centre in early June, though that move wasn’t completed until deadline day.
Towards the end of May, RB Leipzig reached out to Liverpool to enquire about Carvalho. Harvey Elliott was discussed too. When pressed on why they were in the market for an attacking midfielder given what they had at their disposal, the answer caught the Reds off guard.
Dominik Szoboszlai was available
Szoboszlai was expected to leave.
Everyone knew about his release clause but few knew about the specifics of it. Even Liverpool, a club with a close working relationship with the German side, weren’t informed of the exact details.
And while RB Leipzig were working behind the scenes on a deal to bring Xavi Simons to the club, they wanted to bulk out their attacking options.
The Reds had kept track of Szoboszlai throughout his career, but the impression was he would end up at Real Madrid or Manchester City. He was viewed in the same sphere as Erling Haaland.
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After that discussion, the Reds pivoted.
The Hungary skipper would now be their main focus, they went about getting background checks done as well as multiple data dumps on him. Schmadtke reached out to his agent to find out about the requirements of the release clause, as well as finding out who else is interested in the versatile attacker.
No real competition for Szoboszlai
When it became apparent that the only real competition for Szoboszlai was Newcastle United, Liverpool ramped up their pursuit.
Klopp was front and centre of it.
So confident were the club that a deal would get done, the Reds let Kokcu join Benfica.
The only thing left to sort was what the fee would be. Liverpool entertained letting the release clause expire. They could’ve looked to negotiate a better deal for themselves with RB Leipzig, with the cost spread over multiple years. There was also a possibility that Carvalho could’ve been included in a deal. But the German side weren’t giving off the impression they would play ball.
This could’ve dragged on though and Klopp wanted key signings in for pre-season. The club sorted the finances to pay the £60million in full and the deal to bring Szoboszlai to Anfield seemed to happen almost overnight. At least to those on the outside.
Had RB Leipzig not asked about Elliott and Carvalho, Kokcu would be Liverpool’s No8 right now. And Liverpool wouldn't have Steven Gerrard's heir playing a key role in their unlikely title challenge this season.