It speaks to Dominik Szoboszlai's competitive spirit that a private video message from Steven Gerrard, which features a playful request for a game of padel, quickly takes on a more serious edge.

“If he wants to play then I need to start training for that now,” the Liverpool star says as he stirs his latte next to his wife, Borka, at the city's plush Titanic Hotel on Thursday. The Gerrard challenge, it seems, has been accepted.

It was that same will to win that meant Szoboszlai never countenanced losing his place in the team last summer when the club embarked upon the biggest spending spree in their history, laying out around £440m on new recruits that included Germany playmaker Florian Wirtz for £116m.

When Wirtz arrived from Bayer Leverkusen, many believed Szoboszlai's place would be most threatened, but the Hungary skipper has elevated his game further, despite a collective dip that has been inescapable for Arne Slot's squad.

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