Arne Slot has seemingly been using pre-season training for some intriguing experiments ahead of his first campaign in charge of Liverpool.
The Reds appeared to begin the friendly against Real Betis on Friday night in a 4-2-4 formation, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Harvey Elliott playing as false 9s, and the Hungarian could potentially line out in a different position again in upcoming matches.
As reported by Lewis Steele for the Daily Mail, the 23-year-old has apparently been trialled in a wide attacking role during training sessions in Pittsburgh leading up to the match against the LaLiga outfit.
Szoboszlai has played out wide on a handful of occasions for Liverpool (albeit as a substitute) and frequently did so at RB Leipzig, so it’s certainly not a role which is alien to him. Indeed, Jurgen Klopp previously hailed the adaptable Hungarian as a ‘really smart‘ footballer.
Slot showed with his formation tweaks and his use of 23 players against Betis that he’s keen to experiment as much as possible, and now is the perfect time to try things out before the season proper begins and every result matters.
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While the Reds are very well stocked for left wingers, there’s a dearth of senior alternatives to Mo Salah on the other flank. Ben Doak is next in the queue, although he could potentially be loaned out for the upcoming campaign amid reported interest from Leicester and Southampton.
If Szoboszlai plays on the right in the remaining friendlies and adapts well to that position, it could enable the Egyptian to assume a more central role throughout the campaign.
It’s something we might well see against Arsenal and Manchester United over the coming week, with Slot continuing to take advantage of pre-season to test out ideas which could become a familiar sight over the next few months.
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