Dominik Szoboszlai has moved to dismiss suggestions of a falling out between himself, Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas after the three players were seen arguing following a pre-season match during Liverpool’s United States tour. The row came after Szoboszlai handed the captain’s armband to Tsimikas rather than Jones upon being substituted, with the Greece left-back later filmed throwing it to the ground.
“It was never a debate between us three,” the Hungary captain said. “We just discussed something on the pitch. Which actually, after, you guys make it very big. But next time we will manage to do it in the changing room. Nobody was angry at no-one. It’s all cleared – we are cool.”
Szoboszlai led the side for much of the tour after regular captain Virgil van Dijk was absent and Joe Gomez was injured in the first game. The 25-year-old said there had been no formal conversation about the captaincy, pointing to van Dijk, Alisson and Gomez as those ahead of him in the pecking order. “It was a very proud moment to have it and let’s see. It’s not my choice. It’s not fixed,” he added. Speaking in Chicago before the squad returned to the UK, he also clarified a remark from a previous press conference, confirming Alexis Mac Allister would be returning to the team. “That’s my English, guys. It’s not ‘if’ – it’s ‘when’ he comes back.”
On the upcoming season, Szoboszlai said he “can’t wait” to get started and acknowledged Liverpool needed to improve on their previous campaign. “I feel we are ready to go again and take motivation from the last season, because it was not the best,” he said. “We didn’t end up where we wanted to, so now we’re going to go for it again.” Asked about potential signings, he kept it simple: if the manager and those above him decided to bring someone in, the squad would welcome them — but if not, they would have to do something special with the players already there.
Szoboszlai also had warm words for 19-year-old Trey Nyoni, who managed 229 minutes under former manager Arne Slot last season but has stood out during pre-season. “I always knew that he’s a good player,” Szoboszlai said. “In training, he showed his quality many times. He’s a very good player. The squad is short, so we need everybody.” With new manager Iraola now in charge, Szoboszlai said the entire squad was starting from scratch. “Everybody is on zero right now.”
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
