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Football

17th Dec 2020

Arsenal miss out on Dominik Szoboszlai as midfielder seals RB Leipzig switch

Simon Lloyd

Szoboszlai has opted to move to the Budesliga to continue his development

Highly rated Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has completed his move to RB Leipzig from sister club, Red Bull Salzburg.

The 20-year-old has regularly been linked with a move to Arsenal in the last few months with Mikel Arteta said to be a big admirer. Tottenham and Real Madrid are also said to have been keeping a close eye on his development.

However, after catching the eye in the Champions League group stages with the Austrian side, Szoboszlai has now opted to join Leipzig, where he will be free to play in the competition’s last-16 stage against Liverpool in the spring.

“I’m very pleased that this transfer has been completed,” Szoboszlai said after the move was confirmed.

“The club has developed fantastically. It is among the best teams in the Bundesliga and is also doing well in the Champions League. This step is perfect for my development.

“I’m coming to Leipzig to work under a top coach and in an extremely ambitious team, that is very young but also has a lot of experience and has been able to celebrate success.

“Here, I’ll be able to continue my development incredibly and I want to help the club to continue its success in 2021.”

Despite his tender age, Szoboszlai managed 26 goals in 82 appearances for Salzburg in all competitions.

He is the latest young talent to make the move  from Salzburg to Leipzig, following the likes of Dayot Upamecano and Naby Keita. A year ago, Erling Haaland was strongly linked with treading the same path before electing to move to Leipzig’s Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund instead.