Jamie Carragher has admitted he is not the “biggest fan” of a Liverpool player that Reds boss Arne Slot believes “doesn’t always get the credits” the he deserves
Jamie Carragher has revealed he is not the “biggest fan” of Dominik Szoboszlai, while Liverpool boss Arne Slot has branded the midfielder “underestimated”.
Szoboszlai has been a key player for Liverpool since joining the club from RB Leipzig for £60million back in 2023, but Carragher is not convinced and believes West Ham star Lucas Paqueta would be a better fit under Slot.
“I was commentating on West Ham but I was just watching Paqueta thinking ‘oh my’ every time he brought the ball down on his chest or his shoulder,” Carragher said on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet.
“I was actually thinking would Liverpool sign him. I know (Manchester) City did try, but I look at his lack of athleticism in some ways and think would that stop a top team (from signing him) because of what he would do off the ball?
“And I think of Liverpool because I’m not Szoboszlai’s biggest fan but he’s got great athleticism. He gets talked about as our No 10 and people say he’s great off the ball, but I’m thinking: ‘He’s the No 10, he’s scored three goals’.
“And I know he does a great job for the team but Slot would probably still prefer Szoboszlai than Paqueta.” And Slot has previously described Szoboszlai as a player who is “very important” for Liverpool, but “doesn’t always get the credits” he deserves.
Speaking after Szoboszlai scored in Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Ipswich last month, Slot said: “The lead up to the goal was interesting for me to see as well because Ibou [Konate] played a big part in it. He played the ball through the lines, great first touch.
“At first I thought ‘play it to Mo’, but he [Szoboszlai] decided to take it for himself and scored the goal. Pleasing to see for him because he’s been working so, so hard for the team every single game and that he now comes off the pitch with a goal is also pleasing for him.
“If you zoom in on Dom, I think at the beginning of the season he would have played that ball to Mo, which most of the time was a very good choice because Mo can definitely score a goal as well. And now he decided to go for the goal himself and scored the goal himself.
“Nice for him because, in my opinion, he is a bit underestimated. Not by me, but he doesn’t always get the credits for the fact he is very important for this team, because his work-rate is un-be-lievable. He just keeps on running with the highest intensity, and that is so important for a team that wants to compete for something.”
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