Dominik Szoboszlai reveals reason behind picking no. 8 shirt at Liverpool

Liverpool's new signing Dominik Szoboszlai set to inherit no. 8

Dominik Szoboszlai revealed that his choice to wear the No. 8 shirt for Liverpool was somewhat influenced by his Steven Gerrard tattoo.

On Sunday afternoon, Szoboszlai signed a £60 million contract with Liverpool, sealing the Reds' second acquisition of the summer.

His entry comes after that of Alexis Mac Allister, who came from Brighton in June and assumed the No. 10 previously worn by Sadio Mane.

The most recent addition now wears the No. 8 jersey, which was most notably worn by Steven Gerrard and was abandoned by Naby Keita this summer.

The bulk of players Liverpool have added recently look up to Gerrard, with memories of his exploits leading the team, notably in Istanbul, showing through.

“I will be number 8 as I’ve a tattoo from Steven Gerrard. That was a reason why. He was one of the biggest when I was a child”.

Szoboszlai, an ecstatic product of Red Bull Salzburg's development programme, started his professional career with Salzburg's sister club FC Liefering in July 2017. He played 33 times for Liefering and scored an astounding 10 goals during that time.

Before the 2017–18 campaign came to an end, he went back to Salzburg, his parent club. His first Salzburg appearance came as a late replacement against Austria Vienna, opening the door for an excellent future in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Szoboszlai will team up with fellow newcomer Alexis Mac Allister for the coming season after informing Leipzig of his intention to move to Liverpool before the bid emerged.

Only three players have ever signed with Liverpool for more money: Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, and Darwin Nunez.

Szoboszlai is so adaptable that, besides playing in the middle of the field, he is capable of playing in practically any attacking position. 

Although he played on the right for RB Leipzig for a large portion of the last campaign, his natural slot is "number 10," and 10 is in fact the jersey he has worn continuously ever since he earned a senior Hungary international spot in 2019 while still a youngster.