Where Dominik Szoboszlai ranks in Liverpool's most expensive transfers

We were always going to see an aggressive Liverpool emerge in the summer transfer window following the disappointment of 2022/23.

Midfield was regarded as the key problem area the club needed to solve and many believe the Reds have already mitigated such woes with the arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.

While the club's purchase of World Cup winner Mac Allister may go down as the bargain of the summer, the Reds were forced to pay more to sign Szoboszlai and the Hungarian playmaker is now one of the most expensive signings in Liverpool's history.

Dominik Szoboszlai to Liverpool transfer details

This is a transfer that's been years in the making, but the actual move was quite sudden.

Heading into the summer transfer window, Newcastle appeared the most likely destination for Szoboszlai, although Liverpool had registered an interest and they were given a free run at Hungary's captain after the Magpies opted to pursue Sandro Tonali.

With Szoboszlai keen to work under Jurgen Klopp, personal terms were never going to be an issue, but this was still a pretty complicated deal to pull off with Liverpool needing to trigger the player's €70m release clause by the end of June. RB Leipzig also wanted the majority of this fee paid up front.

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Deemed as a necessity by the Reds boss, however, Liverpool went through with the deal with Fenway Sports Group giving the financial green light.

While new sporting director Jorg Schmadtke proved key in smoothing out the major details of the deal, this is a move said to be driven by Klopp, who has tracked Szoboszlai's progress since he faced up against the Reds for RB Salzburg during the 2019/20 Champions League group stages.

Liverpool's top 10 most expensive signings

While several members of the Premier League's big six have struggled when it comes to big-money arrivals, Liverpool have hit the nail on the head more often than not.

Out of their ten most expensive arrivals, only Naby Keita was a distinct failure. The midfielder departed the club this summer on a free transfer after five indifferent years at Anfield. While the jury's still out on Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo is only a few months into his Liverpool career, the rest have been brilliant for the Reds.

The club smartly used the funds garnered from Philippe Coutinho's monster sale to sign Virgil van Dijk and Alisson, with both playing crucial roles in Liverpool's rise under Klopp. Coming in below Keita is Luis Diaz, who enjoyed a scintillating opening six months on Merseyside before suffering a long-term injury during his second season. Diogo Jota, meanwhile, has been an incredibly handy option for Klopp since joining from Wolves for £45m.

Rounding off the top ten is Fabinho, another crucial cog in Liverpool's transformation, and Mohamed Salah, a truly great contemporary Red who has scored the joint-fifth highest number of goals in the club's history.

Liverpool's track record would suggest it's more likely than not that Szoboszlai, who has become the club's fourth most expensive signing ever, will blossom into a star at Anfield.

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On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth, Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss Man Utd's priorities after agreeing a deal for Mason Mount, the latest on Arsenal's move for Declan Rice, Tottenham's targets and more!

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