This is the sort of contract news Liverpool should have been chasing early and hard. Dominik Szoboszlai is set to sign a long-term extension, and the timing matters because the club have already seen what happens when important players drift too close to the edge of certainty. In a squad built to compete now, hesitation is a luxury.
Szoboszlai arrived from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2023 for £60million and has justified the investment. Last season he produced 13 goals and 12 assists in 53 appearances in all competitions, a return that underlined both his durability and his influence. It also made a blunt point: Liverpool are not dealing with a peripheral squad player here. They are dealing with a midfielder who has become central to how Arne Slot wants this side to function.
That is why the reported outline agreement for a new deal is so important. Szoboszlai has two years left on his current contract, which is long enough to avoid panic, but not long enough to leave Liverpool relaxed. The second half of last season dragged on with talks unresolved, and in April Szoboszlai himself admitted there had been no real progression after the Merseyside derby win over Everton. He also made the point that his future was not really in his hands, while still stressing that he sees himself at Liverpool in the long term.
A player Liverpool cannot afford to lose control of
That would have been enough to raise eyebrows on its own, but the wider context makes the case stronger. Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate left as free agents at the end of last season, and that is exactly the kind of messy contract picture serious clubs try to avoid. Once a key player enters that territory, the club loses leverage and the conversation becomes more complicated than it ever needed to be.
Szoboszlai is different in one crucial way: Liverpool appear to be moving before the situation becomes awkward. That is good squad planning, plain and simple. It also reflects the size of his role after Liverpool won the Premier League title in 2024-25. The 25-year-old was not just along for the ride. He was a key part of the title push, and the numbers backed up the impact.
For Liverpool, the logic is obvious. You do not spend £60million on a midfielder, watch him develop into a title-winning contributor, and then allow uncertainty to linger any longer than necessary. Steven Gerrard was the last Liverpool midfielder before Szoboszlai, in 2013-14, to reach double figures for both goals and assists. That is not a trivial comparison. It tells you the level of production Liverpool are now trying to secure for the long term.
So this is not just a routine extension. It is Liverpool protecting a major asset, rewarding performance, and avoiding the kind of drawn-out contract drama that too often becomes its own distracting subplot. Szoboszlai has earned the security. Liverpool have earned the chance to make the decision look obvious. The smart move now is to finish it and move on.
