Dominik Szoboszlai has obvious answer as Liverpool midfield question still being asked
It began as a struggle for both. But rarely can the contrasting fortunes this calendar year of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have been so evident as at Molineux on Saturday.
While Mac Allister went on to play an influential role in helping Liverpool overcome an underwhelming start to eventually move to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 triumph over Wolves, his fellow midfielder was given the hook long before the final whistle.
It was in some respects a mirror image of Liverpool's visit a little more than 12 months earlier, when a horribly misfiring Mac Allister - playing in a lone defensive midfield role - was replaced at half-time with Szoboszlai stepping up in a reshuffled engine room to help inspire the Reds to come from behind to win.
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That continued an early-season trend for the two players who had been brought to the club the previous transfer window.
As Mac Allister found difficulty adapting having been thrust into a new position, Szoboszlai was instead continuing to hit the ground running having found the Premier League to his liking after arriving from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.
Fast forward to Saturday, though, and the roles were reversed. Now Szoboszlai is the player having to adjust to a different task as a number 10 which, given the regular instruction he received during the first half on the touchline from Reds boss Arne Slot, still requires some fine tuning.
A difficult evening for the Hungarian was encapsulated by failing to put Liverpool ahead from a matter of yards when found by Andy Robertson's inviting cross. Yes, credit to Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone for instinctively throwing out a leg to save, but Szoboszlai's perplexed reaction in the back of the net indicated he knew the ball should have been there instead.
Mac Allister hadn't fared much better during an opening quarter that echoed his struggles at Molineux of last season. But, unlike Szoboszlai, he gradually worked himself into the game and continues to prosper in the double pivot role alongside Ryan Gravenberch in the deeper midfield positions.
It's not that Szobozslai hasn't shown himself capable further upfield. He responded to Slot's call for better numbers regards goal contributions by scoring in the 3-1 Champions League win at AC Milan a fortnight ago, and assisted Mohamed Salah for goals at Ipswich Town and Manchester United.
But the forensic analysis that follows every game means his inconsistency this season - and, more pertinently, worrying trend of becoming peripheral for large stretches of matches - has become noted as a growing matter of, if not concern, then certainly intrigue among observers.
With Liverpool having won six of the seven games in which Szoboszlai has featured so far this campaign, any shortcomings have largely been absorbed. Slot, though, is right to contend there should be more from the player in an attacking sense.
The ongoing injury absence of Harvey Elliott, the player Slot has declared is a direct competitor for Szoboszlai's place, has undoubtedly been a blow and would have offered an alternative to keep the 23-year-old both fresh and on his toes.
Nevertheless, the impact of Curtis Jones during the past week, first as a starter in the League Cup win over West Ham United and then from the bench in the number 10 role at Wolves, was reminder of the homegrown player's versatility that could make him an option to Szoboszlai before Elliott's expected return at the end of next month.
Of course, it was at Wolves last season that Gravenberch made his Liverpool debut as a late substitute. And his transformation into an all-action number six he is ongoing proof to Szoboszlai that it's possible in this Reds team to prosper from a switch in position.