Dominik Szoboszlai ranked as no.1 presser in Premier League

Dominik Szoboszlai is ranked as the number one pressing player in the Premier League, according to data. Liverpool have an elite talent.

Statsbomb released data this week that highlighted the best counter-pressing players in Europe right now. A counter-press is one made within five seconds of your team losing the ball.

It's a particularly difficult skill, essentially requiring a player to have both the energy and speed to do it as well as an ability to react to the opposition rapidly. Teams like Liverpool - that thrive at a high tempo and with a high line - crave it in their team.

Do it well and you can quickly regain possession. At the very least, you make it incredibly hard to counter-attack against you and stop opponents from transitioning from defence into attack the way they want to.

And so Statsbomb's data highlights exactly why the Reds were so eager to sign Dominik Szoboszlai in the summer. They show that the Hungarian applies the third-most counter-presses across Europe's top five leagues.

Szboszlai applies 6.5 per 90 minutes. Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz narrowly beats that (6.8), while Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte sits at the top of the pile with an incredible 7.9 per 90. Notably, no other Premier League player appears in the top 12.

Liverpool paid over £60m to sign Szboszlai and essentially, here's why. Not only is he one of the most creative players at the club (third-most chances created) but he also defends in the exact way they want a midfielder to.

And that's especially important after both James Milner and Jordan Henderson left the club in the summer. Both were absolutely elite pressing players for Liverpool and their exits left a big hole in the defence.

Szboszlai, though, has immediately picked up the mantle and there's every expectation that he can improve those numbers over the coming seasons. The Reds truly found themselves a midfielder who can do it all - and he's still only 23.