Szoboszlai’s Versatility: Liverpool’s Emergency Full-Back Solution

Andoni Iraola is ready to rip up the job description again.

Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool’s reigning player of the year and creative heartbeat, could once more find himself lining up at right-back this season as injuries bite and transfer plans stall.

Szoboszlai, the emergency full-back

Szoboszlai’s numbers last season were outstanding: 25 goal contributions – 13 goals and 12 assists – in 53 appearances. He did that while regularly shuttling out of his preferred midfield role to plug gaps at right-back.

That versatility might not just be a bonus this year. It might be a necessity.

Liverpool’s attempts to reinforce the position on deadline day went nowhere, with a late move for a Chelsea option shut down by the London club. Jeremie Frimpong has already looked vulnerable in the role across the opening two games, and Conor Bradley’s absence has left Iraola short of specialist cover.

So the conversation has turned back to Szoboszlai.

“I haven’t found any situation where a player has said he doesn’t want to play in a position,” Iraola said in Thursday’s press conference, careful with his words but clear enough in intent.

“We have discussions, but everyone wants to help. If we have to play Dom as a right winger, as a right-back or a midfielder, he wants to help the team first.

“We have some injuries now, and we need the versatility of the players, players like Dom. Even in the game, they have to change positions.”

The message is obvious: nobody is safe in their comfort zone, least of all one of Liverpool’s biggest stars.

No panic over a quiet window

Liverpool’s summer ended with just one major first-team addition after the £123m arrival of Bradley Barcola. No late flurry, no extra full-back, no extra midfielder.

If Iraola is frustrated, he is hiding it well.

“I’m very happy with the signings we made. Do I want more signings? At the end, the club has decided those signings we have done are the ones that will improve our team,” he said.

“There were other options we decided not to take for different reasons, sometimes sporting or economic; the deal didn’t make sense in the market. But I’m happy now.

“We have a lot of quality in the team. The moment is for the players to give it all they have.”

So instead of looking outward, Iraola is turning inwards – to adaptability, to coaching, to squeezing every angle out of what he already has.

Covering cracks at right-back and in midfield

The right side of Liverpool’s defence is the obvious weak point right now.

“The challenge in the squad now is we don’t have Conor [Bradley] there at right-back. That’s why I value Dom at right-back, as he can play there,” Iraola admitted.

“Versatility in the player helps us go through the moments when we have injuries.

“In midfield we have good numbers. Now it’s a matter of getting the right calls from myself.”

That last line tells its own story. Iraola knows the tools are there in the middle of the pitch; the puzzle lies in how he arranges them while patching up the defence.

“I’m finding now the best combinations, and we are going through a period now where we will play a lot of games, and we’ll have a chance to see the options we have and the combinations we have. It’s a matter of coaching.”

Square pegs in round holes are no longer a temporary fix. For the next stretch, they might be the plan.

Injuries easing – slowly

The good news for Liverpool is that the treatment room is starting to clear, if only gradually.

“The closest one [to playing again] is Joe [Gomez]. He will start training with us next week,” Iraola revealed.

“Next one is [Giovanni] Leoni; he could be training during the break with the group. Conor [Bradley] is next, and, especially Hugo, longer.”

Gomez back in full training will ease some pressure. Bradley’s return will change the picture entirely on the right. Until then, Iraola will lean on improvisation and on players like Szoboszlai, who seem willing to shoulder whatever role the team demands.

Liverpool built last season’s surge on structure and star quality. This one, at least in the early weeks, may hinge on something less glamorous but just as decisive: who can adapt quickest, and how far a manager can push his best players without breaking them.