Dominik Szoboszlai enhanced his growing reputation with a sensational hat-trick on Wednesday night, with the reported Arsenal and Leicester City target in sparkling form for Red Bull Salzburg.
At the age of just 19, a Hungarian playmaker is already turning into a player befitting of his nation’s Mighty Magyar past.
Szoboszlai may be the most talented footballer to emerge from the Eastern European nation since the glory days of Ferenc Puskas and Sandor Kocsis, with a big-money move away from the Austrian Bundesliga feeling like an inevitability this summer.
Football London reports that Arsenal have identified the teenager as the man capable of replacing Mesut Ozil as their go-to creator.
Leicester City are also interested, according to The Sun, in a technically gifted midfielder who looks tailor-made for a Brendan Rodgers team.
Szoboszlai is understood to be valued at around £18 million – but he has surely added a few more pennies onto his price-tag with arguably the finest performance of his young career in midweek.
A lethal hat-trick in Salzburg’s 5-1 thrashing of Sturm Graz highlighted the ruthless finishing skills of a man who, until recently, was not exactly renowned for putting the ball in the back of the net.
A 25-yard blockbuster of a free-kick was the pick of the bunch – even if it wasn’t quite as eye-catching as the Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired stunner he slammed into the top corner during the Austrian Cup victory over Lustenau earlier in June.
“I am satisfied with my performance. The performance was really strong,” Szoboszlai would tell Sky after the game.
He is not just tremendously talented. One of the best free-kick takers on the continent is humble too.
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