Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool duo Harvey Elliott and Dominik Szoboszlai are ‘proper contenders’ for midfield positions ahead of the new Premier League season.
The Liverpool boss was impressed by the midfielders during their 4-0 thumping of Leicester City in a pre-season friendly on Sunday in Singapore, as he told the club’s official website.
Harvey Elliott, albeit still 20, is very much accustomed to what Jurgen Klopp wants from him now, whilst Dominik Szoboszlai, after joining from RB Leipzig this summer, is hoping to showcase why big bucks were paid for his talents as he gets used to his new surroundings.
There is every chance that when the Reds lock horns with Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on August 13 that Szoboszlai and Elliott are starting in the middle of the park.
Two players who certainly won’t be playing, but watching from afar instead, will be the now-departed Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
Their transfers to Saudi Arabia will leave a big void in the team, but that’s where the likes of Elliott and Szoboszlai have to now step up.
“Harvey (Elliott) and Dom (Szoboszlai) are proper contenders for the positions, definitely, and I think both proved why, both showed really exactly what we need in that position, so that’s why there’s nothing sorted yet,” said Klopp.
“I don’t sit here and know exactly which line-up will play against Chelsea. Why should I? Two pre-season games [to come], a lot of things can happen, but we will need all of them.
“Really, the young boys took the chance just to show up – I told them already a week ago or so in the dressing room and I said I saw a lot of young players in my career but this group is special.”
Harvey Elliott’s time to shine
There has been a big promise on his shoulders ever since he arrived as a fresh-faced teenager from Fulham in 2019.
Klopp has put a lot of faith in the player, including starting him in big Premier League and Champions League matches, which shows the trust the German has in the England U21 international.
But, after winning the European Championships this summer, now is the time for Elliott to go to the next level and stake a regular starting place with Henderson and Fabinho now out of the door.
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