Szoboszlai: Liverpool's Reluctant Full-Back Solution
Andoni Iraola is ready to roll the dice again.
Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool’s reigning player of the year and creative heartbeat, could once more find himself shunted to right-back as the new manager wrestles with a thin defensive department and an early-season injury pile-up.
Szoboszlai, the reluctant full-back solution
Szoboszlai was Liverpool’s standout performer last season, racking up 25 goal contributions – 13 goals and 12 assists – across 53 appearances. Those numbers were impressive enough on their own. They looked even better when you remember how often he was dragged away from his natural attacking role to plug gaps at right-back.
That scenario is back on the table.
With Conor Bradley sidelined and Jeremie Frimpong exposed in the opening two games, Liverpool went hunting for late help on deadline day. A move for a Chelsea full-back was explored but swiftly shut down by the London club, leaving Iraola to work with what he has.
What he has is Szoboszlai’s versatility.
“I haven’t found any situation where a player has said he doesn’t want to play in a position,” Iraola said on Thursday, choosing his words carefully but making his stance clear.
“We have discussions, but everyone wants to help. If we have to play Dom as a right winger, as a right-back or a midfielder, he wants to help the team first.
“We have some injuries now, and we need the versatility of the players, players like Dom. Even in the game, they have to change positions.”
The message is blunt: expect Szoboszlai to move if the team needs it.
No new full-back, no complaints
Liverpool’s summer business ended with £123m man Bradley Barcola as the headline arrival and no senior reinforcement at full-back. From the outside, that looks like a gamble. Iraola doesn’t want it framed as a failure.
“I’m very happy with the signings we made,” he insisted. “Do I want more signings? At the end, the club has decided those signings we have done are the ones that will improve our team.
“There were other options we decided not to take for different reasons, sometimes sporting or economic; the deal didn’t make sense in the market. But I’m happy now.
“We have a lot of quality in the team. The moment is for the players to give it all they have.”
No public pressure on the hierarchy. No hint of regret. Instead, a clear challenge to the dressing room to stretch itself.
Right-back headache, midfield puzzle
The biggest headache is obvious.
“The challenge in the squad now is we don’t have Conor there at right-back. That’s why I value Dom at right-back, as he can play there,” Iraola explained.
“Versatility in the player helps us go through the moments when we have injuries.
“In midfield we have good numbers. Now it’s a matter of getting the right calls from myself.”
So the numbers are there in the middle of the pitch; the jigsaw is at the back. Iraola knows he will be judged on how he arranges the pieces.
“I’m finding now the best combinations, and we are going through a period now where we will play a lot of games, and we’ll have a chance to see the options we have and the combinations we have. It’s a matter of coaching.”
Square pegs, round holes? For the next few weeks, that might be Liverpool’s reality.
Injuries bite as schedule ramps up
The calendar is about to get brutal. Iraola will be rotating under duress, not luxury, with several senior players still working their way back.
“The closest one [to playing again] is Joe [Gomez]. He will start training with us next week,” he confirmed.
“Next one is [Giovanni] Leoni; he could be training during the break with the group. Conor [Bradley] is next, and, especially Hugo, longer.”
Until then, the manager leans on adaptability. On utility. On players like Szoboszlai, whose influence is too big to ignore and whose willingness to shift roles might end up defining Liverpool’s early season.
The question now is simple: how long can a team with title ambitions afford to use its best creator as an emergency right-back?
