Dominik Szoboszlai Signs New Liverpool Deal and Eyes Captaincy
Dominik Szoboszlai has nailed his colours to the Liverpool mast. The Hungary captain has signed a new deal that keeps him at Anfield until 2031, shutting down transfer talk that had already stretched as far as Real Madrid.
At 25, this is the commitment of a player convinced his prime years belong on Merseyside. Liverpool clearly agree.
From Leipzig arrival to Anfield mainstay
Since arriving from RB Leipzig in 2023, Szoboszlai has become one of the cornerstones of Liverpool’s rebuild. Three seasons, 154 appearances, 31 goals. Many of them thunderbolts. Many of them in moments that mattered.
Managers have used him everywhere. Advanced midfield. Deeper playmaker. Wide creator. His versatility has turned him into a default pick, not a luxury option.
For Hungary, he already wears the armband. At Liverpool, he increasingly plays like a man rehearsing for the same job.
Echoes of Nedved, shadow of Gerrard
His relentless running and all-action style have drawn comparisons with Ballon d’Or winner Pavel Nedved. Former Liverpool midfielder Vladimir Smicer, a Champions League winner in 2005 and a compatriot of Nedved, sees the resemblance – and something more.
Smicer believes Szoboszlai is not just a star of the present, but a future pillar at Anfield, a player whose influence will only grow as this Liverpool side evolves.
That naturally leads to one question: what happens when Virgil van Dijk’s contract runs down next summer?
“On the right path” to captaincy
Smicer, speaking to GOAL in association with Grosvenor Sport, did not hesitate when asked if Liverpool’s current No.8 could eventually succeed Van Dijk as captain.
“Will Dominik Szoboszlai succeed Virgil van Dijk to become the next captain of Liverpool? One day, yes. I can see it,” he said.
He drew a clear line, though, between Szoboszlai’s trajectory and the unique status of Steven Gerrard.
“It’s difficult to compare him as a player and as a captain to Steven Gerrard because Stevie G was grounded in Liverpool. He grew up in Liverpool. There was always that connection between the club, the city, the fans and Stevie G. It was something very special. Even the players in the Liverpool dressing room felt that and knew how it worked.
“Szobo has been at Liverpool for three years and Stevie G spent his whole life at Liverpool but he’s on the right path to follow in Stevie’s footsteps, and I think Stevie loves to watch Szobo play for Liverpool. If one day we say that Szobo is Stevie G’s successor, I don’t think he would be against that.”
The message is clear: nobody replaces Gerrard. But someone can pick up the responsibility he once carried.
A legacy to be written
Szoboszlai will probably never command the same emotional pull as a local icon who grew up a few miles from Anfield. That is the reality of Gerrard’s myth.
What he can do is build a different kind of legacy – one defined by leadership, longevity and trophies.
The timing feels right. Liverpool have started the 2026-27 season unbeaten, alive on all fronts at home and in Europe, and Szoboszlai sits at the heart of it. His new contract underlines that this is a long-term project with him as a central figure.
If the captain’s armband eventually lands on his sleeve and he lifts major silverware under the Anfield lights, the question will not be whether he matched Gerrard.
It will be how far he has gone in carving out a new era of his own.
