Dominik Szoboszlai admission will give Arne Slot plenty to ponder during Liverpool pre-season

Sandor Csanyi, the president of the Hungarian football federation, has revealed that Dominik Szoboszlai was not fully fit when he took part in the European Championship this summer - though there was no chance of the Liverpool number eight, who is a national hero in his homeland, sitting the tournament out.

Signed for a fee of around $76m (£60m/€70m) last summer when his release clause at RB Leipzig was activated, Szoboszlai flew out of the traps at Liverpool . But after picking up an injury in the first game of 2024 against Newcastle United , the Hungarian never got back to the same heights.

Csanyi has explained that he was not fully over the injury setbacks that he suffered when Euro 2024 came around. As a result, Liverpool will have to be careful with the 23-year-old's load this summer ahead of the new campaign starting in the middle of August.

READ MORE: What happened in behind-closed-doors friendly as Arne Slot runs rule over Liverpool stars
READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news LIVE: Matt O'Reilly claim, Trent Alexander-Arnold latest, Nico Williams bid

"He was not in top form at the European Championship ," Csanyi told Nemzeti Sport . "This is also a consequence of the fact that he was not at 100 per cent since his injury in the winter and in the tournament, he had been struggling with a minor injury for a long time.

"Of course, he can’t be proud of being in the 'Team of Disappointments' either, and it makes me sick to see it too. However, we, together with all the fans of the national team, must encourage and help him in this situation. Szoboszlai is only 23 years old; he was the youngest team captain in the European Championships .

"His will and attitude were exemplary, he tried to act as a leader on the field. There is no doubt that he is the biggest star of the current national team, but due to his age alone, he cannot be expected to always perform in the form of his life."

Liverpool.com says: Szoboszlai is a really good player and his first few months at Anfield proved that. The only issue post-Christmas was that he picked up an injury and never fully got over it. He looked shattered and the hope will be that he has refreshed enough over the summer to go again come August 17.