Liverpool hold fresh talks to sign £100m star

It’s been three years since Liverpool paid £60m to bring Dominik Szoboszlai over from RB Leipzig.

A marquee signing that kicked off an ongoing saga involving Anfield hijacking a number of Newcastle United’s top targets, the Hungary captain was awarded Liverpool’s Player of the Year for 2025/26, a shining light throughout a desperate year.

Szoboszlai has become more rounded and involved over the past year, growing into his role as a talisman. Arne Slot said that he was “outstanding throughout the season“, far more influential than when the sun was shining the previous year, when Liverpool lifted the Premier League title.

Just imagine the heights the 26-year-old could reach with higher-performing midfielders around him. FSG are hoping to make that happen ahead of the new season.

Liverpool in fresh talks to sign World Cup star

Szoboszlai is the main man in Liverpool’s midfield, but his brilliance has not been matched by his peers over the past year.

Florian Wirtz has flattered to deceive since joining from Bayer Leverkusen for £116m, and both Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones are mooted to be on the move after struggles under Slot’s wing. All told, Liverpool were not good enough in midfield last season.

Liverpool were lethargic and ponderous in midfield last season, and something needs to change under Iraola’s wing next year, especially since the Spanish tactician will bring a faster brand of football.

Liverpool are going to need to sign quite the upgrade in the middle of the park, and they might just have their dream option in mind.

According to TEAMtalk, Liverpool are engaged in fresh talks with LOSC Lille over a potenial move for Ayyoub Bouaddi this summer. The 18-year-old is emerging as one of the biggest breakout stars at the World Cup.

With Arsenal and Chelsea and many more lining up to sign the Morocco international, Lille are inclined to raise his price tag even higher, across the £100m fencing.

That’s an awful lot of money, especially since Bouaddi’s employers want him to remain with them in Ligue 1 next season, should an agreement for his transfer be struck over the next couple of months.

Why Bouaddi can be Szboszlai’s dream Liverpool partner

Ordinarily, Liverpool would be hesitant to fork out £100m for a teenager, but this summer, they have shown a willingness to just that for Bouaddi – and Leipzig’s Yan Diomande too, though the winger has rejected the Anfield side.

Bouaddi is only 18, but he is the real deal, a midfielder who could make a world of difference for the Reds when he touches down in the Premier League.

There is a lot to like about this one. Bouaddi turns duelling into an artform, and his precise dribbling ability and athleticism, an ability to cover large stretches of ground, makes him a real force in the middle of the park.

It is curious that he has not recorded a goal contribution or even created a chance for his nation this summer, but has still drawn so many plaudits for his performances in the middle of the park.

In that, he would allow Szoboszlai to take the limelight, instead working like a silent assassin, dispossessing opponents and starting the sequences that Szoboszlai and Iraola’s forwards would finish off.

Szoboszlai’s accolades across the 2025/26 campaign are made all the more impressive by the woes of Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch beside him. Both midfielders flattered to deceive across the term.

Bouaddi would be a breath of fresh air. Said to be a talent who is “going to become a superstar” by analyst Asim Mahmood, the Moroccan is worth paying for, surely, even if it means that he will remain in France for the forthcoming year.

That’s hardly ideal for the Anfield side, but Bouaddi is indeed going to develop into a world-class midfielder, and FSG must do everything to prevent him joining one of Liverpool’s rivals.