Dominik Szoboszlai responds to Mo Salah's leadership plea as new role beckons

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Dominik Szoboszlai has sent a message to Mohamed Salah on social media ahead of Liverpool's preseason campaign, with the midfielder set to audition for a new leadership role under Andoni IraolaDominik Szoboszlai will be in line to captain Liverpool on the team's tour of the United States(Image: Getty Images)As Mohamed Salah's illustrious Liverpool career drew to a close in May, he posed a pointed question: which members of the current squad would lead by example, being first through the gym doors.In one of the Anfield legend's final addresses during his nine years at the club, an interview conceived by Sky Sports to present tributes to Salah via a cinema screen was commandeered by the Egyptian King himself to deliver a rather more pressing message."I told them when I leave, 'You need an example here,'" Salah said. "You need people to come early to the gym, and people look at them, 'Oh, he goes to the gym, so I need to go.' If that doesn't happen, I think it will be tricky for this club because it's something very, very necessary.

You put the standard high, like people have to come early. People have to go gym."Seemingly seizing the opportunity to make a pointed gesture to his friend and former team-mate, Dominik Szoboszlai made certain to tag Salah after the Hungary captain returned to training over the weekend, ahead of preseason preparations, which get underway at the AXA Training Centre on Monday.Pausing mid-workout for a quick selfie, Szoboszlai shared the post with his 5.5 million Instagram followers, tagging Salah with the concise caption: "Back."It comes as little surprise that Szoboszlai, widely regarded as one of Liverpool's fittest players, would be working on his base fitness levels more than a week before reporting for duty at the club's Kirkby facility.Szoboszlai is working hard ahead of the new season(Image: Instagram/@szoboszlaidominik)In contemporary soccer, though, players seldom take time off from maintaining their fitness levels, and the notion of utilizing pre-season to lose excess pounds from the offseason is an outdated concept.Szoboszlai, however, will be amongst the most experienced figures in Andoni Iraola's group at the training facility on Monday, due to Hungary's absence from World Cup qualification.It represents a crucial phase for Szoboszlai under his third Liverpool boss in four campaigns, and while doubts surround numerous players in the present squad under Iraola, the standard of performance he demonstrated during Arne Slot's final season must be replicated and subsequently enhanced.It's believed Szoboszlai is continuing discussions over fresh terms at Anfield, with the 25-year-old midfielder eager to dedicate his prime years to the club, having established himself in the North West alongside his wife Borka and their young daughter.Talks have yet to produce a resolution, and the situation involving Ibrahima Konate, who departed as a free agent for Real Madrid aged 27, may be sufficient to concern supporters about Szoboszlai's future, though there is at least a mutual desire on both sides to prolong the arrangement that commenced three years ago.Without Virgil van Dijk, who will be taking a summer holiday during the club's preseason tour of the United States, Szoboszlai stands as strong a candidate as any to be appointed Iraola's captain for the fixtures against Sunderland, Wrexham, and Leeds.There isn't another clear option available, considering the squad will be without Salah and Andy Robertson, while Alisson Becker will also be away on his end-of-season break.

Should Szoboszlai be genuine about progressing into Liverpool's leadership group, the coming weeks under Iraola could prove pivotal in determining that. 8.It's fortunate, then, that he has seemingly embraced the fitness regime established by Salah.