Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig.
The 22-year-old is believed to have penned a five-year contract at Anfield until the summer of 2028 after the Reds triggered his £60.2m release clause.
Szoboszlai has become Liverpool's second signing of the summer window, following former Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister to Merseyside.
The former Red Bull Salzburg starlet will wear the number eight shirt for the Reds, which was most recently sported by Naby Keita prior to his exit on a free transfer.
Szoboszlai will follow in the footsteps of several Reds legends to have sported the number eight jersey, including Steven Gerrard, who was in possession of that number between 2004 and 2015.
"It's really, really good. I enjoyed the last [few] days and I'm looking forward to knowing everybody better," Szoboszlai said in his first interview with liverpoolfc.com.
"The last three or four days went really long; it was not that easy. But at the end I'm here, I'm happy and I can't wait to get started.
"[A] really historic club, really good players, good coach, everything is good. For me it was perfect to make the next step in a club like this. The fans, the stadium, everything is really good."
Szoboszlai left his homeland in 2017 to join Salzburg's youth setup, and he rose to prominence during his time in Austria, directly contributing to 60 goals in 83 appearances.
Despite reports of interest from Arsenal, Szoboszlai joined Leipzig in an £18.9m move in January 2021, and the 22-year-old came up with 20 goals and 22 assists in 91 games for Die Roten Bullen.
Szoboszlai helped Leipzig win back-to-back DFB-Pokal titles in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, contributing 10 goals and 13 assists from 46 matches in all competitions last term.
A 32-cap Hungary international, Szoboszlai has seven goals and two assists from 32 games for his nation, and he was voted captain by his teammates and manager Marco Rossi last November.
Szoboszlai has already stepped out onto the Anfield turf for a 2019-20 Champions League clash against Liverpool for Red Bull Salzburg, who lost 4-3 to Jurgen Klopp's side in that group-stage match.
Recalling that seven-goal thriller, Szoboszlai added: "This time made me feel bad because we lost 4-3! But of course, I've said it before, I've almost never been nervous before the game, I think this was the first time in my life.
"Of course the stadium, the fans were unbelievable even [though] they were against us [Salzburg]. And we will see how it is when they are with me.
"I heard that it [Anfield] is going to be bigger. Of course counting the days back because it's a really proud time to get on the pitch in Anfield as a player for Liverpool."
Szoboszlai has often featured as a number 10 for club and country, but he has also been deployed as a winger and number eight during the early stages of his career. body check tags ::
