A promotion that was always part of the plan

Dominik Szoboszlai has never been shy about his ambitions at Liverpool, and being named one of Virgil van Dijk's vice-captains under Andoni Iraola looks very much like a man getting exactly what he came for. The Hungarian international joins Alisson Becker and Joe Gomez in a new-look leadership group at Anfield, with Iraola confirming the arrangements on Friday.

Szoboszlai arrived from RB Leipzig in 2023 for £60m with a clear sense of what he wanted from his time on Merseyside, and he made no bones about it when speaking to NBC Sports after Sunday's 2-2 draw with Newcastle United. "When I first joined Liverpool, that was my whole plan, to be in the first XI and if you work hard and do everything, every day then it is going to be there and you are going to get back everything that you have done," he said. That is not the language of someone who fell into a leadership role by accident.

A statement moment to go with the armband

The timing of Szoboszlai's comments gave them extra weight. He had just rescued a point for Liverpool with a 99th-minute penalty against Newcastle, the sort of moment that tends to define leaders rather than merely confirm them. It was his 99th cap for club and country combined in a Liverpool shirt, though it is the manner of it, not the number, that will stick in the memory.

He was measured about the new dynamic in the dressing room too, giving due respect to a captain who, at 35, he clearly still holds in the highest regard. "We have Virgil, although he is 35 he is one of the best centre-backs in the world, still. So I am happy to share the dressing room with him," Szoboszlai said. There is a real sense that he sees van Dijk not as a figurehead to eventually replace, but as someone worth learning from right now.

What Iraola's arrival means for the group

The arrival of a new manager has a habit of reshuffling the deck, and Szoboszlai was candid about the energy that brings. "It's a new manager and obviously everyone is motivated," he said. "I think it is natural that you show him that you want to be part of this squad, part of the first XI and as part as one of the leaders."

With a fresh contract running until 2031 already secured last month, Szoboszlai is clearly one of the cornerstones of what Iraola is building here. The vice-captaincy is confirmation rather than reward, recognition that the work has already been done. As for what comes next, the man himself is keeping things characteristically open: "Let's see what the future brings." On this evidence, it is shaping up to be quite something.