Sky’s Erik Meijer speculates whether RB Salzburg’s Dominik Szoboszlai would fit in at Bayern Munich

RB Salzburg’s Dominik Szoboszlai has catapulted himself into the limelight in European football after a bright 2019/20 campaign and a positive start to the 2020/21 season. Most recently, he also inspired the Hungarian National Team to qualifying for next summer’s European Championships by virtue of scoring a late, stoppage time goal to defeat Iceland 2-1. The goal came on the tail end of an incredible solo run from the 20-year old.

Szoboszlai is now highly sought after by top clubs throughout Europe, and he could even be a player that Bayern Munich should be keeping close tabs on. In a recent interview with Tz, former Dutch footballer turned Sky Germany pundit Erik Meijer speculated whether or not Szoboszlai would be a good fit playing under Hansi Flick at Bayern.

To start, Meijer highlighted Szoboszlai’s strong spatial awareness and knowing where to be on the pitch at all times: “He knows exactly where to move on the pitch. It’s a gift, you can’t learn that. If you are not an absolute hit when it comes to speed, you need this component. You must have a radar. He has that in addition to an incredibly good shooting technique.”

Szoboszlai is often deployed as a left winger, but he possesses the ability to play as a central attacker as well and often cuts in centrally from the left. Meijer drew comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo’s early playing days where he would often be an attacking creator from a wide position: “I see him like Cristiano Ronaldo at the beginning of his career. He comes into the penalty area via half-left and thus scores his goals. It is his nature to score goals. If you pull in from the left, have a good shot, you can put the ball on your right foot. And he does that perfectly.”

There are also comparisons drawn to Thomas Muller given Szoboszlai’s excellent spatial recognition, which is a part of Muller’s game that’s helped him earn the “Raumdeuter” nickname at Bayern. Additionally, Szoboszlai is useful in a high pressing system at Salzburg, which Bayern often deploys too. He can work on both sides of the ball, much like players in Bayern’s attack like Muller, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane, and Leon Goretzka, among others.

Photo by BARBARA GINDL/APA/AFP via Getty Images

Because of all of this, Meijer feels that Szoboszlai could definitely fit into Flick’s system(s) at Bayern: “In theory, certainly. He’s big and strong, runs a lot, works defensively. In Salzburg he is used to pressing, which Flick likes to play. Bavaria was also interested in Kai Havertz. He plays the same role, only Havertz pulls in from the right side to finish with his left foot. Szoboszlai lacks the experience of Thomas Müller. When do I go into the storm when Robert Lewandowski pushes on the outside? You have to get this feeling. Szoboszlai at least knows when to let himself fall so he can get behind the striker and let him clap. And when he has to overrun the striker so that he can get deep himself. He must now see that he takes the next step.”

All of the evidence is there; Szoboszlai could easily fit into Bayern as a potential backup for a player like Muller, but it’d be difficult to see him accepting a backup role. It’s also more likely the he could wind up going to RB Leipzig as a part of Red Bulls’ feeder system. Additionally, Leipzig is still trying to play an attacking brand of football even after losing Timo Werner (Chelsea) and Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen), so they might be more in-need of Szoboszlai’s services and it would be a more natural evolution in terms of making the next step in his career.

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All things considered, let us know how you all feel about Szoboszlai potentially coming to Bayern at some point in the future. Is this something you’d like to see and something you feel is feasible? Let us know in the comments section!