Dominik Szoboszlai's move to Liverpool could have been so very different.
New claims have emerged that the Hungary international snubbed a move to Italy back in 2020, with all the documentation and personal terms agreed for a switch from Red Bull Salzburg.
Instead, a transfer to Germany and then the Premier League transpired, with the 24-year-old now set to earn his first top-flight medal in England this season. So, who did Szoboszlai almost join?
Why did Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai snub a move to Italy back in 2020?
Szoboszlai's midfield qualities are there for all to see. The Hungarian oozes closes with his defence-splitting passes, as well as his terrific ball retention in tight areas. He is a player who is proving so crucial to the way Arne Slot wants to play.
Set to become a Premier League winner in a few weeks' time, Szoboszali rejected a move to Italy five years ago, with the club's former Chief Football Officer admitting he tried and tried to convince the talented midfielder.
"Personally I went to close [with] Dani Olmo," began ex-AC Milan chief Zvonimir Boban when speaking to Calciomercato recently. "They didn't want to do it, it was January 2020. Everything was agreed, maybe something had to be raised, but it was a deal worth 18 [million Euros] plus two [million in add-ons].
"We had also taken Szoboszlai, everything was agreed: 20 million of the clause with Salzburg. Two operations that we would have concluded with the sales of [Krzysztof] Piatek and Suso. There too they denied and I said to myself: 'What the hell is this?'".
Signing Szoboszlai for £20m would have been a masterstroke from Milan, especially given Liverpool paid £60m for his services in 2023, and even that looks to now be something of a steal in the grand scheme of things.
"It's different. Last year I was playing as an eight and I think more as a defensive part of the game than offensively," the Hungarian said recently when asked about the impact Slot has had on his time on Merseyside.
"This time I am a little bit more offensively than defensively and I'm still doing the work for the defence part.
"He [Slot] changed my game a lot and I improved I think a lot under him because he was going in on a certain point that I was never thinking about to be improved. I still can improve for sure and I'm working on it every day."
