Florentino Perez will GIFT WRAP £78m Liverpool midfielder for Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool need to tread carefully over the future of Dominik Szoboszlai.

Having impressed during the Premier League title-winning season in 2024/25 the 25-year-old has taken his game to new heights this term.

Szoboszlai has been Liverpool’s best player of the season so far - solving several problems for head coach Arne Slot along the way.

The Hungary captain has played not only in his preferred attacking midfield position but also at right-back, defensive midfield and even on the right wing.

If every Reds’ player hit the consistent heights reached by Szoboszlai this season then they would be a lot better off.

Real Madrid want Szoboszlai deal

With the playmaker out of contract in 2028 the time will soon come for sporting director Richard Hughes to make a decision over Szoboszlai.

He and his team will be well aware of his worth in any negotiations with the midfielder admitting last week that no progress had been made over a new deal.

Currently earning around £150k per week Szoboszlai is going to need a sizeable increase in pay in order to take him in line with his peers in that position.

And if the Anfield club are unwilling or unable to satisfy his contract demands then there is a chance for interested clubs to strike a deal.

Liverpool paid £60m for Szoboszlai to RB Leipzig back in 2023 and would be set against losing him on a free in 2028.

Klopp tipped to take over

And if no agreement is struck then they could be left with no option other than to cut his Liverpool stay short. Real Madrid are now waiting in the wings - according to a report in Defensa Central.

Florentino Perez - the club president - is willing to pay around £78m to make this deal happen and Szoboszlai could be a welcome present for a new head coach who knows him very well.

“The Hungarian footballer has risen to the top of Real Madrid's transfer target list,” the report reads.

“Furthermore, Florentino Pérez would be willing to pay up to €90 million for him, provided Liverpool are open to negotiations and the player requests it.”

It was Jurgen Klopp who signed Szoboszlai for Liverpool three years ago and the German has been tipped heavily to take over at the Bernabeu next summer.

“The German, who is now strongly linked with the Real Madrid job next season, was largely responsible for the player ending up at Liverpool,” the report continues.

Madrid are crying out for midfield quality and Szoboszlai would no doubt add exactly that to their squad. Hughes has been warned. Perez - and Klopp - lie in wait if contract talks don’t go well.

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