Liverpool reach 'agreement' with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich target loved by Jamie Carragher - report

Liverpool have reached an ‘agreement in principle’ with midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, it has been reported.

The Hungarian international has been one of the stand-out players under Arne Slot this season, with the midfielder coming in for praise while many of those around him have been the subject of criticism.

“You as an individual have been absolutely fantastic and I think your level has gone up each season, and it feels like you’re one of the first names on the team sheet,” ex-Reds defender Jamie Carragher said while interviewing the Hungarian after the Reds had beat Real Madrid at Anfield back in early November.

Ahead of the interview, Carragher introduced Szoboszlai to viewers and his colleagues in the studio as ‘Liverpool’s best player this season’.

Few would argue with that sentiment and now Caught Offside have reported the player is close to signing a new contract at the club. They say an agreement in principle is in place over a fresh deal that will extend his stay on Merseyside.

Szoboszlai signed a five-year deal at Liverpool when he joined in 2023, meaning he will still have two years left on his deal come the end of the campaign.

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were said to be showing ‘concrete interest’ in the player, but he’s expected to commit to Liverpool. The Reds spent much of last campaign in talks with Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold over new deals and this season the focus has been on Ibrahima Konate’s future as he is out of contract in the summer.

Andy Robertson is another who is in the final months of his deal.

The club clearly want to avoid a similar situation playing out with Szoboszlai, and a new contract will fight off the interest from Real Madrid and Bayern.

Speaking about Szoboszlai earlier in the campaign, Slot said of the midfielder after consecutive wins over Madrid and Aston Villa: "I think he's been outstanding throughout the whole season but these two games brought even more out of the team and out of him.

"For me, for obvious reasons; but it's maybe smarter not to say those reasons because I don't want to say the same things over and over again, and you probably know what I mean without me saying it?

"I think Dom has a lot, a lot, a lot of qualities but one of them is also his work without the ball.

"And his work without the ball was... I like his work without the ball every single game and in the last two games that was probably even above his own standards."