RB Salzburg phenom Dominik Szoboszlai says Bayern Munich, Juventus, Arsenal, and Ajax are interested

RB Salzburg midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has established himself as one of rising young stars in Europe this season and admitted in an interview with a local outlet newspaper that Bayern Munich was among the teams checking in on him.

Szoboszlai sat down with Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet and listed out the teams, who have been in contact with him:

No one has personally contacted me yet, but Juventus, Bayern, Arsenal and Ajax were interested.

Szoboszlai, who can play as an attacking midfielder and central midfielder, while also having the capability to play as a wing, spent the first half of the season with Red Bull-affiliate FC Liefering in 2.Liga (Austria’s second division) where he had six goals and four assists in nine games. Upon returning to RB Salzburg in January, Szoboszlai has made 18 first team appearances and tallied four goals and five assists.

While most of the interview revolved around his season and life in Salzburg, Szoboszlai offered a few nuggets regarding his future. When asked about where he sees himself in three years, Szoboszlai seems pretty confident that he is going places:

Wow… let’s say in Spanish or English first class, on a podium.

When asked about what he would do if he received an offer of ten million euros a year from Arabia or Qatar as opposed to half a million from Bayern, Szoboszlai did not hesitate:

Of course, Bayern!

BFW Analysis

Szoboszlai first really came on to Bayern’s radar last year, but more importantly he caught the eye of professional scout — and sometimes Bavarian Football Works contributor — Brian Kellogg. Kellogg gave us this assessment of Szoboszlai just under a year ago during our postseason series titled, “BFW postseason breakdown: The Player We Most Want to Transfer In”:

The midfielder, from Red Bull Salzburg is a 6’ 1”, (now 18-year-old) Hungarian youth international, who played on loan in 2017/18 for FC Liefering in the Austrian second division. Both his parent club, Salzburg, and Leifering are affiliated with Red Bull Leipzig of the Bundesliga. Szoboszlai played over 3,000 minutes in 2017/18 in all competitions, scoring 11 and assisting 12 more. RB Leipzig would be reluctant to let him go but Bayern could make them an offer they can’t refuse. The midfielder would have to go on loan for a year or two if Bayern signed him, but he has tremendous upside. Szoboszlai is currently valued at 500,000 Euros on Transfermarkt.

Szoboszlai is one of the more intriguing names attached to Bayern because he is at an age where he could be ready for the big stage of a club like Bayern when they may need to start thinking about new central midfield options. At 18, Szoboszlai could be three-to-four years away from really hitting his stride as a player, which would be great timing given James Rodriguez is likely leaving this summer, Renato Sanches is disgruntled and wants a transfer, and the respective ages of Thomas Muller (29), Thiago Alcantara (28), and Javi Martinez (30).

While the current roster might not offer a young talent like Szoboszlai much of a chance for playing time, Bayern could get creative with a plan for a loan destination where Szoboszlai can get first-team minutes.