Dominik Szoboszlai is becoming un-droppable for Liverpool - so are Florian Wirtz or Jeremie Frimpong at risk of being benched?

Jurgen Klopp once described Szoboszlai as "a joy to work with" - and Slot quickly came to understand why. As the Dutchman said in January, "Dom's work-rate is un-be-lievable! He just keeps on running with the highest intensity and that is so important for a team that wants to compete for something."

Slot wasn't wrong. Szoboszlai's pressing was a key component in Liverpool's game plan all season long, while he also made some decisive contributions in massive matches - most notably his goal and ingenious assist in the 2-0 win at Manchester City on February 23, and the opener in the victory over Newcastle three days later that effectively sealed a record-breaking 20th championship.

"He wins the ball back for us, he runs for two players," Slot enthused at the time. "That probably deserves even more credit than him scoring a goal."

Despite pointing out that Szoboszlai's importance to Liverpool was "underestimated", the £60m (£81m) signing still came in for criticism last term for his perceived lack of end product. The 24-year-old may have been directly involved in more Premier League goals during the 2024-25 campaign than the likes of Declan Rice, who was nominated for Player of the Season, Martin Odegaard and Kevin De Bruyne, but his numbers still became a big topic of debate.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, for example, made no secret of the fact that he was "not Szoboszlai's biggest fan" and felt that the Reds were entitled to expect more from a player who was regularly deployed as an attacking midfielder.

"I know he's a completely different player, and he's got great energy, but when you think of what Arsenal have got in Odegaard, what Man City had in De Bruyne in the past, what Chelsea have got in Cole Palmer, you want someone who’s going to get you close to 15, 20 goals a season from that position," Carragher told the 'Stick to Football' podcast. Essentially, the England international was arguing that Liverpool need to sign a more productive No.10 during the summer - which is exactly what they did.

Unbeknownst to the fans, Liverpool had been exploring the possibility of signing Wirtz for some time and their interest in the 22-year-old's services made perfect sense. The Germany international is a very different type of attacking midfielder to Szoboszlai. He's a proper No.10, an old-school trequartista with a very modern approach to pressing.

As well as being a wonderful dribbler, Wirtz has a wonderful gift for finding space and picking out passes in between the lines - as he demonstrated during the first half of the Community Shield clash with Crystal Palace.

Given his cost and his qualities, then, Wirtz was always going to play in his preferred position when Liverpool began their Premier League title defence at home to Bournemouth on August 15. Szoboszlai started, too, of course but as part of a midfield pivot with Alexis Mac Allister due to the unavailability of the suspended Ryan Gravenberch. It was, thus, thought that when the latter returned to the starting line-up for the game at Newcastle on August 25, Szoboszlai might drop to the bench.

Slot had a problem, though. Not only was Mac Allister missing for the trip to Tyneside due to the birth of his first child, Frimpong was ruled out through injury and the obvious replacement at right-back, Conor Bradley, wasn't match fit. Consequently, Slot picked Curtis Jones to replace Mac Allister in midfield and asked Szoboszlai to fill in for Frimpong. Remarkably, it proved a masterstroke. 

Szoboszlai was sensational at St. James Park, first doing an outstanding job in nullifying the threat posed by Newcastle winger Harvey Barnes, and then, after being moved into midfield, effectively creating the winning goal for Rio Ngumoha with an outrageous dummy.

As he didn't touch the ball, Szoboszlai wasn't credited with an assist (Thierry Henry argued he should have been!) - but his characteristic selflessness was rightly and widely lauded, with even Carragher lauding him for an "absolutely outstanding" all-round display. As for Slot, he felt Szoboszlai personified his side's winning mentality.

"It is not easy to play as a full-back if you've only been a midfielder in your career," the Reds boss said after the 3-2 victory. "He played there once in pre-season – I think it was against Stoke when we played behind closed doors - but in that game we only had the ball and now he had to defend a lot. For him to put in a performance like that, you can say a lot about his character."

Slot was so impressed by Szoboszlai's performance against Newcastle that he made an even bolder call to stick with him at right-back for the visit of Arsenal on August 31. To his immense credit, Szoboszlai turned in an even more decisive display against Liverpool's title rivals.

Gabriel Martinelli got absolutely no change out of Liverpool's makeshift defender and the Brazil international was hauled off after 70 minutes. Then, with a pretty poor game heading towards a seemingly inevitable draw, Szoboszlai produced what both managers referred to as "a moment of magic", with the Hungary skipper beating David Raya from distance with a stunning free-kick.

At that particular moment in time, Szoboszlai looked like Trent Alexander-Arnold - but with better defensive attributes. Carragher even went so far as to claim that the 2023 arrival from RB Leipzig had found his best position, writing on social media: "Full-back suits him better than the attacking midfield role."

Whether that's really true is debatable, as Szoboszlai hasn't even played two full games at right-back, but there's certainly no denying that he was excellent against Arsenal. As well as marking Martinelli out of a game that he decided with a spectacular strike, Szoboszlai also had more touches of the ball than any player other than Virgil van Dijk, completed the most passes in the final third and won the joint-most tackles.

Of course, the natural temptation will be for Slot to put Bradley in at right-back against Burnley on Sunday, given the Northern Irishman started twice for his country during the international break and Frimpong is not yet ready to return. However, Szoboszlai definitely doesn't deserve to be dropped, and there is even a case to be made for him being utilised as an attacking midfielder for what is likely to be a bruising battle at Turf Moor - especially as Wirtz has yet to fully get to grips with the physicality and intensity of the Premier League.

Szoboszlai, for his part, is not unduly worried about Slot's selection headache. "I play where he puts me," he said after his Player-of-the-Match-winning outing against Arsenal, "I try to give my best, and help the team."

He's definitely done that so far this season and is likely to continue doing so - no matter where he plays. All of a sudden, in fact, it seems like Wirtz and Frimpong should be more worried about their starting spots than Szoboszlai, which is something nobody would have anticipated at Anfield back in June. 

Maybe, just maybe, the days of Liverpool's unsung hero being underestimated are finally over.