Liverpool officially confirmed that midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has been selected by football fans worldwide for the Premier League’s Fan Team of the Season for the 2025/26 campaign.
The Premier League revealed that supporters from all corners of the globe cast their ballots from a 60-player shortlist, accumulating more than 200,000 individual selections via its official website.
The Hungarian international claimed his rightful spot as one of the three standout midfielders in the ultimate XI, lining up alongside Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes.
The full fan-voted team features a distinct mix of the division’s top performers:
Premier League Fan Team of the Season (2025/26): David Raya; Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Nico O’Reilly; Dominik Szoboszlai, Declan Rice, Bruno Fernandes; Igor Thiago, Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo.
Statistical brilliance in a turbulent year
This end-of-season nod is a vital piece of recognition for Szoboszlai because it comes directly from the supporters who watch the games week in, week out, rather than relying solely on data models or pundit panels. That said, the statistics back up the public sentiment; Szoboszlai had already been named in Opta’s data-driven Premier League Team of the Season.
In a campaign where Liverpool struggled for consistency, finished fifth in the table with 60 points, and narrowly secured Champions League football on the final day, Szoboszlai’s individual reliability was a rare beacon of light. He featured in 36 of Liverpool’s 38 Premier League matches, establishing himself as a durable, elite engine in the centre of the park.
| Stat Category | Total |
| Appearances | 36 |
| Goals | 6 |
| Assists | 7 |
| Total Goal Involvements | 13 |
While a fifth-place finish will never be deemed good enough at Anfield, Szoboszlai’s individual output under heavy burdens proved that he is someone the club can and should depend on moving forward.
The tactical chameleon: Szoboszlai’s positions under Slot
The 2025/26 season was a highly tumultuous one tactically, ending in the dramatic sacking of head coach Arne Slot just one year after he delivered Liverpool’s 20th league title.
Amidst squad disharmony, tactical friction, and an erratic campaign, Slot frequently leaned on Szoboszlai to plug gaps across the pitch.
Throughout a highly turbulent campaign, Dominik Szoboszlai effectively operated as a one-man band for Liverpool, carrying the midfield on his shoulders like a modern-day Steven Gerrard.
Rather than playing with absolute tactical clarity under Arne Slot, the Hungarian became the ultimate tactical chameleon, consistently asked to patch every single defensive and offensive gap on the pitch.
When deployed as an advanced playmaker (No. 10), he used his sharp vision and final-third quality to feed the frontline. When dropped deeper as a box-to-box engine (No. 8), he utilized his incredible physical range, pressing metrics, and tireless defensive tracking to transition the ball.
Slot even pushed him out wide as an inverted right winger to compensate for tactical friction and the ultimate departure of Mohamed Salah, allowing Szoboszlai to cut inside and unleash his trademark long-range efforts.
While his immense versatility saved Liverpool in key moments, it frequently felt like the system was overstretching him instead of maximizing his natural strengths. Despite this, he still managed a phenomenal, team-high 25 goal involvements across all competitions, including 13 strikes and 12 assists.
Among his 13 goals were four jaw-dropping direct free-kicks that felt like their own personal Goal of the Season contest.
Most notable was his stupendous, 30-yard set-piece that swerved over the Arsenal wall to secure a late 1-0 winner at Anfield in August, followed later in the year by a mind-boggling, nonchalant free-kick against Manchester City that jiggled and dipped at improbable angles right past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
From ice-cold penalties like his winner against Inter Milan at the San Siro, to his crucial goal-and-assist display against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Szoboszlai proved he was the definitive driving force in an otherwise underwhelming Liverpool side.
Future captaincy shouts: A leader emerging from the chaos
Despite the dysfunction that plagued the squad towards the end of the season—including highly publicised fractures between the squad and the now-departed Slot Szoboszlai’s character only shone brighter. He consistently showed the physical grit, high pressing engine, and on-field personality required of a true leader.
Before his sudden dismissal on Saturday morning, even Arne Slot had publicly lauded the midfielder’s leadership traits, earmarking him as a potential future captain.
“He’s still young. I think he has a lot of attributes already, especially when it comes to leading by example.
“But there’s still a step to make in terms of leadership, being vocal, being a voice in the dressing room if I compare him to Virgil [van Dijk], which is completely normal because Virgil is 34 and has seen probably James Milner or Jordan Henderson and these players.
“So it’s really good for Dominik that he sees Virgil as well. That would be a next step for him, to be as vocal and as loud as Virgil is.
That sentiment is fiercely echoed by the Anfield faithful. Having already successfully worn the captain’s armband for the Hungary national team at a young age, fans increasingly see Szoboszlai as a natural heir to the Liverpool captaincy.
In a dressing room that is undergoing massive transition, his vocal presence and leading-by-example work ethic have made him a prime candidate to wear the armband for Liverpool in the coming years.
What happens next for Liverpool?
Liverpool’s hierarchy, led by FSG’s Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes, acted swiftly at the conclusion of the season by relieving Slot of his duties.
The club is reportedly moving quickly to appoint his successor, with departing Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola heavily linked to the vacancy.
The mandate for the incoming manager is clear: move away from the rigid or erratic structures of the late Slot era and return to a front-foot, high-intensity, and vertically aggressive style of football.
If Liverpool appoints a coach who thrives on intensity, Szoboszlai must be the very first name on the tactical planning board.
The recruitment team must also ensure they complement his skillset. To get the absolute best out of the Hungarian maestro, Liverpool needs a fully functioning defensive midfield structure, reliable runners to share the physical load in central areas, and ruthless attacking sharpness ahead of him to convert the chances he creates.
ReadLiverpoolFC Verdict
Dominik Szoboszlai being voted into the Premier League Fan Team of the Season proves that his relentless work, undeniable output, and resilient personality have resonated far beyond the Anfield gates. In a messy, exhausting, and ultimately underwhelming year for the club, he gave everything for the shirt.
With Arne Slot now gone and a massive managerial appointment on the horizon, the challenge for Liverpool’s hierarchy is glaringly obvious: stop using Szoboszlai as a fire extinguisher to put out fires all over a dysfunctional pitch.
It is time to recruit properly, stabilise the spine, and build a cohesive tactical machine that allows this Hungarian powerhouse to stop being just a bright spot, and start being the driving force of a championship-winning team.
