Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp told Dominik Szoboszlai is like Cristiano Ronaldo

Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp have been told how to get the best out of Dominik Szoboszlai by his former coach and ex-MLS manager. The Hungarian midfielder is on his way to Merseyside and his former coach has hailed the young star as one of the best talents in the game.

Austrian manager, Gerhard Struber was fortunate enough to have witnessed Szoboszlai’s skill at an early age. The coach enjoyed a varied managerial career that took him from RB Salzburg to Barnsley, and then New York Red Bulls in MLS.

However, it was back in Austria where he noticed Szoboszlai’s talent on the ball and eye for goal while he was at the Salzburg academy. During this time the Hungarian was playing under the coach at feeder club FC Liefering.

Speaking to Redmen TV, Struber recalled what made the 22-year-old stick in his memory. He said: “I have many many big talents next to me like Naby Keita, Taki Minamino, Patson Daka – so many players who play for Leipzig in the German Bundesliga and then make the jump to the Premier League.

“I had so many top talents next to me but I can say Dominik Szoboszlai was always a player who surprised us. We saw the potential in him at this time and also what I see and I never forget is that sometimes the team would have an off day and he was always on the field.

“He would train on days off. I was in my office, I can see him outside and he would make some special corner kicks, free kicks with the balls on the field. I think next to a top talent what he is, I can see also a high ambition and in this direction, two things come together – very high work ethic plus a super talent.”

Not only was the Hungarian’s talent memorable, but Struber also reveals how he would suit Jurgen Klopp’s style: “I think sometimes a match plan was not helpful – he needs freedom, he needs space for himself to create his special direction. He did a great job in the last few years and this step to Liverpool could be the next trampoline for Liverpool.”

Struber’s comments are reminiscent of another player who joined the Premier League at a young age and went on to become one of the greatest talents in the game. Former Manchester United player Nicky Butt recalled a similar story about when Cristiano Ronaldo burst onto the scene in England.

Speaking in a foreword to a book called “Viva Ronaldo! The Second Coming of Cristiano,” Butt said: “​​He was the last to leave the building. In fact, you couldn’t get him off the training pitch as he worked relentlessly on his techniques, as we were all walking off he was carrying a bag of balls to work on those techniques.

“We would be having lunch in the canteen or getting ready to go home and you could hear the voice of Sir Alex bellowing across the training fields at two or three o’clock in the afternoon, shouting at Cristiano that it was time to get off the pitch as ‘we have a game in two days — enough now’!”