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Was it premature to say Dominik Szoboszlai wouldn’t be suited to double pivot for Liverpool or is international football a little misleading?

Against Brighton towards the end of the 2024/25 campaign, the No8 was deployed in a deeper position for the Reds with Harvey Elliott coming in as the attacking midfielder. Arne Slot explained his decision ahead of the game at the Amex: "He is playing as an eight, with Ryan as a six, with Harvey a bit more forward. I think Dominik sees his best position as an eight."

Now, I’m a fan of the Liverpool No8 but there have been amber flags when he’s been used in a deeper position.

Not winning duels in the first phase of the press isn’t a huge issue and there are others behind who can mop up. The idea is to put pressure on the opposition. Success isn’t necessarily an indicator of how impactful you’ve been in that role. However, failing to win tackles and duels in a double pivot is an issue, a big one at that, as it exposes the middle third of the pitch.

This was an issue against Brighton.

Szoboszlai failed to win any of his four tackles against the Seagulls. He also won just 50% of his ground duels. He made no interceptions and didn’t manage a single clearance. It wasn’t the best audition for that role. With Liverpool having Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones as options there, it didn’t make sense to shoehorn the former RB Leipzig man into that position. Not when he was so impactful higher up the pitch.

But then I’ve seen him during this international break, playing all over the pitch for Hungary and dictating play from deeper areas, and I’m, once again, intrigued by the idea of Szoboszlai being the man to help fix the first-phase issue Liverpool face without the services of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Someone put together his highlights from the recent game against Azerbaijan. Look at where he’s picking up possession. Look at how he’s threading passes between the lines. Look at how he’s dictating the tempo and taking on the creative responsibilities.

Per FotMob, he created the most chances in the game (seven) and completed the most passes (76). The skipper made the most recoveries (10) and completed the most dribbles (two). It was an all-action showing. It was very Steven Gerrard, wasn't it? Be honest. Doing everything. Leading by example.

Yes, the opposition wasn’t the greatest, but I think I’ve been reeled back in.

In the loss to Sweden, Szoboszlai was the most fouled player (five), and he won the most duels (seven). He created four chances and a 100% tackle success. He can do it. Maybe the game against Brighton was misleading due to the fact the league was won and everyone was on the beach. It won’t have helped him having Elliott ahead of him either.

And there’s been talk in Hungary in the past that the 24-year-old could well be a future No6. Back in 2023, Marco Rossi, the manager of the national team, said the following: "I know he said that he doesn't like too much to play in this position. But I really think that in the future, he could be a fantastic number six. He has all the skills to be in this position, like [Andrea] Pirlo was, just to give an example. I think Pirlo was the best in this position in the last 15 years, and Dominik has really good skills to play in this position."

The same thing happened to Gerrard too. He went from midfield powerhouse, physically capable of doing everything, to sitting off and dictating play.