Dominik Szoboszlai Sets Out Liverpool Role, Contract Aim and Iraola Ambition

Dominik Szoboszlai has made his position clear. He sees himself as a midfielder first, he will play wherever Liverpool need him, and he has no shortage of edge when it comes to proving people wrong.

That matters because Liverpool are entering another reset. Arne Slot is gone after a steep decline in 2025/26, Andoni Iraola is in, and the squad needs certainty in key areas. Szoboszlai looks like one of the few fixed points. He was arguably Liverpool’s best performer in a poor campaign, and now the club are in talks over a new long-term deal with two years still left on his current contract.

The broad message is simple. Szoboszlai is adaptable, ambitious and fully aware of how he is viewed. He also does not pretend to be some mild, selfless automaton. Speaking. to L’Equipe he admitted, “I have too much ego”, then followed it with the line that will resonate with plenty of supporters, “That’s why I have so much love for the people sitting on their sofas talking s**t about me.” Blunt, but clear enough.

Szoboszlai role under Andoni Iraola

For all the noise around versatility, Szoboszlai’s preference has not changed. He wants to play box-to-box midfield, where he can affect every phase of the game, carry the ball, hit passes of different lengths, break lines with movement and arrive in shooting positions. That is where he believes his game has the most range, and there is little argument with that.

Even so, he is not drawing lines over where he will and will not play. During Liverpool’s injury problems, he filled in at right-back and did so without complaint. He even suggested the switch is not especially complicated from a tactical point of view, arguing that central midfield demands a wider awareness because danger and passing lanes come from every angle, while full-back can be more straightforward in its basic reads.

That flexibility could be useful for Iraola. Liverpool need players who can survive tactical variation and intensity, and Szoboszlai has the athletic profile and discipline to fit that model. There is no suggestion he wants to be permanently moved out of midfield, but there is a practical value in having a player who can solve problems without turning it into a public drama.

He put it plainly: “I could easily say ‘I don’t want to play full-back; either you put me in midfield, or I’m not playing’,” and then dismissed that route because the priority is helping the team. That is the right answer, and more importantly, it has matched his actions.

Liverpool contract talks and long-term targets

There is also a bigger picture here. Szoboszlai is 25, established, and talking like a player who wants to shape the next era rather than drift through it. Liverpool are discussing improved terms, which makes sense. If Iraola is rebuilding the side’s intensity and midfield control, Szoboszlai should be central to it.

His ambitions are hardly modest. He said, “As a child, I always dreamed of winning the Champions League – probably even more than winning the Premier League,” before adding, “But now that I’ve had a taste of it, I absolutely want to win the Premier League again because 2025 was just incredible.” That tells you two things. First, the title win still drives him. Second, he is not lowering his sights because of one bad season.

He also backed the new head coach, saying, “I’m convinced we can compete (in the Champions League), and I’m hopeful that with the new manager Andoni Iraola we’ll move in the right direction.” No grand declarations, no nonsense. Just a statement that Liverpool should be relevant again at the top end of Europe and England.

That should be the baseline at this club anyway. The real issue is whether Liverpool can restore enough control and attacking balance to make those aims realistic. Szoboszlai’s form suggests he can be one of the drivers of that recovery.

For Liverpool, the conclusion is straightforward. Szoboszlai remains one of the club’s most important players. He wants responsibility, he accepts inconvenience, and he is driven enough to turn criticism into fuel. Under Andoni Iraola, that is exactly the sort of personality Liverpool will need.