Liverpool FC is at an advanced stage in the transfer of Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig and has triggered the attacking midfielder’s release clause according to multiple reports.
It emerged on Friday that the English Premier League club is favorite to sign the player after interest from Newcastle United cooled, and talks were taking place.
Liverpool head coach Jürgen Klopp is looking to further strengthen his side’s midfield following the signing of Alexis Mac Allister earlier this summer and sees the Hungarian as an ideal addition.
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Much of the focus around this deal has been on that release clause of €70 million ($76 million) in Szoboszlai’s contract with RB Leipzig.
Developments have sped up in the past day or so as there are rumours that there is a June 30 expiry date on this clause, which is also the end of the 2022/23 season where most player contracts are concerned.
It means June 30 and July 1 are dates where plenty of transfer admin gets done, contracts expire, and the contract of loan players officially returns to their parent club.
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Liverpool normally likes to do deals in instalments and with future add-ons, but the release clause for the 22-year-old is seen as a good deal by itself.
Football clubs can always look for alternative ways to finance initial lump sums, too.
As the price of players in the transfer market inflates, spotting a good value release clause is one way to beat the inflation, and is a way to sign players for a more reasonable fee.
Having played across all of the midfield positions and on both wings at some point in his career, Szoboszlai will add versatile creativity to Liverpool’s attacking midfield ranks.
The 6-foot-1 playmaker has come through the ranks at the Red Bull group of clubs, starting in Austria with FC Liefering and Red Bull Salzburg before moving to RB Leipzig for a fee of $27.5 million in January 2021.
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He has long been tipped for a move away from Leipzig and is one of the most promising young attacking midfielders in Europe.
It is another good move for Liverpool early in the 2023 summer transfer window following the Mac Allister signing as the club looks to push ahead with its much-needed midfield rebuild.
It is also a major bit of business for the club’s new sporting director, Jörg Schmadtke, who knows the German market and German clubs well having worked for Bundesliga clubs previously.
The club have also been heavily linked with Khéphren Thuram of Nice and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Manu Koné, but the new-look team is already taking shape with the high-profile, high-quality signings of Mac Allister and now Szoboszlai, who are already at the level required for first team starters.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesnalton/2023/06/30/liverpool-meet-dominik-szoboszlai-release-clause-as-transfer-from-rb-leipzig-edges-closer/