Andoni Iraola is already a huge fan of this Liverpool player | OneFootball

Dominik Szoboszlai Emerging as Key Liverpool Leader Under Andoni Iraola

Liverpool have a new head coach, a squad in transition and a clear need for authority inside the dressing room. In that context, Andoni Iraola’s early public praise for Dominik Szoboszlai matters.

The Hungarian has signed a long-term contract extension at Anfield, which gives Liverpool stability around one of their most reliable senior players. It also gives Iraola something every incoming coach wants, a footballer who sets standards without needing constant instruction.

Iraola was direct about it. “I think this is one of the greatest news since I arrived, his commitment to this club, his contract renewal. Also, he has come in a great shape.

“He has been leading by example in training; he’s pushing a lot. I think young players should be looking at him, the way he is training and he competes.

“Definitely he has to be one of our leaders looking forward and I’m looking forward to having him in my team, to try to use him in the best way, to try to help him feel comfortable and try to make him continue the same way he’s having, because I think he had a very good season [in the] past season; and even, if we can, improve what he’s already doing.”

Szoboszlai contract gives Liverpool a foundation

This is the sort of renewal Liverpool needed. Szoboszlai is 25, already carries international responsibility with Hungary and has moved beyond the stage where promise is enough. He now has to produce, lead and stay available. Last season, he did that more often than most around him.

He scored 13 goals and supplied 12 assists, solid numbers in a side that lacked coherence for long spells. More tellingly, he filled in at right-back when required. It was hardly ideal, but it said plenty about his attitude. Coaches remember that. Team-mates do too.

There is no mystery as to why Iraola has latched on to him early. New managers look for players who can carry messages onto the pitch and into the training ground. Szoboszlai fits that brief.

Liverpool leadership picture is changing fast

Liverpool are also dealing with a shift in hierarchy. Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah have both left this summer, which removes experience, personality and a lot of dressing-room weight. Somebody has to absorb that responsibility.

Iraola has not yet named a new vice-captain, but Szoboszlai has an obvious case. He has captained his country for years, he is entering his prime and he has the profile of a player younger team-mates will naturally follow. Leadership at a big club is not about noise. It is about consistency, work rate and credibility. He has all three.

That matters even more at a club resetting under a new coach. Iraola needs players who can help establish habits quickly. Szoboszlai appears to be doing exactly that in pre-season.

Andoni Iraola needs action more than slogans

Plenty of players talk well in summer and plenty of coaches hand out praise in July. It means little unless it carries into August and beyond. The difference here is that Szoboszlai already has a body of work behind him.

He has produced goals, accepted awkward tactical demands and now committed his future. Those are concrete things. If Liverpool are going to move cleanly into this new era, they need more than talent. They need players prepared to impose standards every day.

Right now, Iraola is making it clear who he sees as one of the reference points. On current evidence, Szoboszlai has earned that status and Liverpool will expect him to carry even more of the load this season.