Everton: 3 players Everton should sign in January to challenge for European football
Dominik Szoboszlai has seen his stock skyrocket in a short span of time.
Dominik Szoboszlai
Source: 90Min
The 20-year old Hungarian has caught the eye of most of Europe with his performances this season, attracting interest from giant clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but Everton can offer him something many of these big clubs can’t, a crucial first-team role.
People may be wary about somebody from the Austrian league, but Salzburg have a fantastic reputation for developing young players with the most recent example being Erling Braut Haaland. They’ve also helped the development of players like Sadio Mane, Naby Keita and Dayot Upamecano. It’s safe to say that Everton can trust that Dominik can perform at the highest level.
The Hungarian playmaker has massively impressed recently, last season he grabbed 12 goals and 18 assists in all competitions for the Salzburg, but his performances this season have caught the eye of all of Europe, which means The Austrian giants will be able to demand big money for their star-man.
One place that can show how excellent this young starlet is, is the Champions League, where he has put in some fantastic performances for Salzburg, one example being his performance against Atletico Madrid where Salzburg lost a close encounter due to a Joao Felix brace. Dominik currently has 2 goals in the UCL, but he’s also been creating for his teammates, even if he hasn’t registered an assist yet.
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He currently averages 3 key passes per game, to put that in context James averages 2.4, and in a Champions League group with the previously mentioned Atletico and reigning champions Bayern Munich this proves that Szoboszlai has the ability to be a dangerous playmaker.
People may get confused about why I think we should sign another key playmaker when we have James, but Dominik, in my opinion, will be at his best as a secondary playmaker, this is because he doesn’t need to constantly have the ball to be a dangerous player.
He averages around 1 dribble per game which isn’t much for somebody who is averaging 3 key passes per game in the Champions League and who has 5 assists in 6 Austrian Bundesliga appearances.
I think Szoboszlai would slide in perfectly to that Andre Gomes/Sigurdsson role, this would also take a lot of pressure off of James who won’t be constantly having to worry about having to do everything himself, especially if another Richarlison situation happens.
How Much Would Everton Pay?
Unfortunately for us, most of the biggest clubs in Europe want the Hungarian’s signature which means Salzburg will be able to demand huge money, but if Dominik can be convinced by Carlo Ancelotti then it would be huge for Everton.
He won’t come cheap and is currently valued at £22.5million on Transfermarkt, along with this RB Leipzig will get the first choice to sign Dominik due to their link with Salzburg, but if Leipzig decides to pass then I believe Everton would have to pay around £40-45million to secure the signature of this future world-class playmaker.