03 Jun 2026 20:26:18
Evening chaps, I've seen on social media a few times that Szoboszlai is refusing to sign a new deal. Does anyone know if there is any truth in this? Thanks.
03 Jun 2026 21:18:33
Read a few bits to pal saying negotiations were ongoing, not heard he had refused tbh.
03 Jun 2026 21:33:41
Another Midfield rebuild?
03 Jun 2026 21:33:47
Need to sell if that's the case.
03 Jun 2026 22:22:22
Have we all seen the outfit he wore to international duty? Might be time to let him go. ?
03 Jun 2026 22:30:59
Sell. Easily replaced.
03 Jun 2026 22:40:04
Not seen a lot, but is Scott a similar player type?
03 Jun 2026 23:00:14
Best player during the most disappointing, depressing season I've ever fallen asleep to, and he's shrugging the fans like he's prime Souness.
Title-winning season, he's too shy to celebrate in front of the Kop with the trophy coz he feels like an imposter and didn't contribute much.
He can jog on for me. Closer to Naby Keita than Steven Gerrard.
03 Jun 2026 23:27:23
I think the club needs to evaluate it properly with the full information.
We need to stop players going on a free, but at the same time Szobo is one of our best players.
They need to try and tie him down.
There is a lot of jumping to conclusions here on what Szobo is thinking and doing. Let's hope the club and him are working on it.
03 Jun 2026 23:34:23
Sorry Davey, Szoboszlai is easily replaced. If he is dithering, then don't hesitate, make it clear he either signs, he leaves or he's bench fodder.
03 Jun 2026 23:34:31
"Refusing to sign" is that what they used to call 'negotiating'?
Is there a meeting every few days when the 'fans' pick a name out of a hat and start vilifying the player? We have Konate, then we have Gakpo, then we have Dom.
Take the gossip as factual truth and belittle the players' abilities and character and make crass statements like 'Sell.
Easily replaced' just like it's a computer game. If and when the player goes let's move onto the next target. Easy eh?
Thing is we're likely to end up with nobody wanting to play for us and we'll end up with the squad that we actually deserve rather than the squad we think we deserve.
04 Jun 2026 00:00:51
He is very easily replaceable, WDW. He's nothing special. He's just a transient employee and nothing more. If he's not committed, then his choice should be limited to either being transferred or accepting a reduced role in the team while someone who is committed makes a valid contribution.
04 Jun 2026 00:28:19
I got called for everything for saying he's not that good earlier in the season. I stand by it. He's a show pony.
04 Jun 2026 00:36:24
I like Szob, good player and certainly a starter, but he's not indispensable. As per my other post on the subject of being ruthless, if he doesn't resign with 2 years left we should put him on the market. Hope he stays though, be well suited to Ireola's system, I think.
04 Jun 2026 00:59:12
Wdw, Gakpo and Konate have been absolutely rubbish all season. Any criticism is well deserved.
Vik, with all due respect, mate, claiming Szoboszlai is easily replaced is pure waffle. He's in his prime, at 25, he's had 3 seasons honing his skills in the Prem, he's won a title, his quality is unquestionable, he's exceptionally dynamic, his work rate is immense and his engine is second to none.
Not to mention he arguably holds 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for free kick of the season. He cost just £60m but is now worth double. How exactly do you plan to 'easily replace' that?
04 Jun 2026 01:00:49
In common with all our current midfielders, when the going gets tough, he goes missing. He would not be missed.
04 Jun 2026 01:44:08
Chewy, Szobo is easily bypassed defensively, is weak in the tackle, slows our counters and has become his own biggest fan. Not saying get rid, but if he's another looking to run down his last two years, then do all we can to get rid. We've lost far better players and prospered. Borderline show pony for me.
04 Jun 2026 02:57:17
He's not a defensive midfielder, it's not what he was brought in to do, but for somebody who's 'weak in the tackle' he somehow managed to play better at RB than our 2 RB's. Anyway, I'm not here to debate Dom's weak points, all players have them, my point is that he's not easily replaceable.
Who can we go out tomorrow and purchase easily for £60m? Who brings Dom's experience, quality, work rate and stamina to the team?
04 Jun 2026 03:57:03
All mids at some point have to put their boot in and make a tackle. We just happen to have 3 who are not very good at it (Grav Mac Dom). Several times this last season, Dom either lost a 50-50, gave away the ball cheaply or was fannying about trying fancy flicks (Bournemouth first game of season), leading to goals or chances.
If he wants to stay, great, sign. If not, wouldn't shed a tear if we get something for him. Teams like Bournemouth, Brentford, Palace, Brighton seem to find plenty of quality at bargain basement prices. Why can't we?
04 Jun 2026 04:51:20
Szobo has been played at RB for some of the season. He still chipped in with goals and assists. He was one of the best players last season (title-winning one).
If we are offering him anything less than 200k pw, then he has a right to be aggrieved when the likes of Gakpo are on much more. Szobo is currently on 120k a week.
04 Jun 2026 06:03:43
U get paid what you're worth. If he's on 120, then that's what him, his agent and the club thought he was worth at the time. Mo has been arguably the greatest ever PL player and he's on 400, or was. Virgil one of the best in the world in his pomp. The club broke the wage structure for both.
If they decide Szoboslai is worth over 300 a week, (that's the number I've read), so be it. But if they don't, then they will either compromise, be sold for a fee at some point, or leave on a free in 2 years. The club haven't helped themselves giving average players like Gakpo and Gravy KDB money.
04 Jun 2026 06:10:52
Szoboslai 13 GAs last season. Gerrard averaged 20. Bernardo Silva same, KDB 23-28 or so. Szoboslai giving the fans grief for not accepting garbage performances. Don't care if he stays or goes.
04 Jun 2026 06:33:33
13 goals and 12 assists from CM and RB this season is easily replaced. ?
And then people have the temerity to be outraged when people serve their full contract and move on.
"You're easily replaced but don't you dare leave us on your own terms."
04 Jun 2026 07:29:34
Any player that has a go at the fans after they've paid hard earned money to travel needs to give their head a wobble. He stood out because everyone else was dire. If he doesn't sign, then it looks like another winding down of the contract situation, in which case we need to cash in.
04 Jun 2026 04:04:21
@Chewy, I have absolutely no problem with constructive criticism of a player's playing ability. The dross that is now the norm on here when 'criticising' a player is increasingly unacceptable, in my opinion. Of course, nothing will change, the genie is out of the bottle, but, purely as an example and in no way to be taken as what I really think . if I said, "I think your opinions are usually stupid and not thought out and you really should try and get a life", I would expect you to be upset and to tell me that I am wrong, in whatever way you think is most appropriate. And that would be fair enough.
The trouble with the 'criticism on here is that it is hardly ever constructive, let alone factual and the people being vilified don't have the right of reply.
04 Jun 2026 08:18:42
I repeat, Barry, 13 goals and 12 assists from CM and RB. This is why he stood out. That is an unbelievable season.
Szobo has all the qualities to be a monster in Iraola's system.
Joni Mitchell said "don't it always seem to go and you don't what you got till it's gone".
There's a reasonable population on here yearning for Nunez to come back for god sake.
Szobo acted poorly in a moment of high emotion/frustration.
People aren't allowed mistakes ever when it comes to footballers. What he did isn't even remotely unforgivable.
04 Jun 2026 08:40:34
If Szoboszlai isn't good enough and easily replaceable, I'm not sure what sorts of standards we have on here. Can he improve with decisions he makes on and off the pitch? Obviously, he can, he has a lot of room to get better.
But the fact that he has improved steadily year on year, on and off the ball, suggests that he will continue to reach new heights. Sometimes I wonder why we have so little appreciation for our own players.
{Ed078's Note - agreed. Remind me, which of our players was better than him over the entirety of the season?
04 Jun 2026 09:04:38
"Easily replaceable". ???. By whom?
I guess it's "let's s*** on Szoboszlai's head" this week.
04 Jun 2026 09:09:09
It's like some people have completely forgotten the season that just ended 2 weeks ago.
All the players took a dip in form.
Some worse than others.
Wonder what the common denominator was?
Meanwhile Szobo held some kinda performance standards together.
04 Jun 2026 09:09:38
The Szoboszlai bashing above makes me wonder if I've woken up in a parallel universe.
04 Jun 2026 09:12:37
He was our best player last season and the only one who seems to have from the outset the fitness and energy to play in an Iraola midfield. He's a must keep for me. Works his socks off, can play multiple positions, and chips in with valuable goals and assists.
04 Jun 2026 09:41:59
He's a really good player who's probably now demanding parity with the top earners in European football. I wouldn't vilify him for that, but I guess we have a decision to make before he gets into the last two years of his contract.
Can we afford what he wants, if not, what's the best time to sell and will someone pay what we want.
Increasingly with all of these players we're having to let them go on frees as their wage demands are so high the buying club can't afford to or won't pay a transfer.
04 Jun 2026 09:48:34
I don't think any player is worth keeping if they are unsure of staying ..Not sure who said it on here bfr but saying refusing to sign is negotiating..In a way that's right but it's most probably negotiating with another club ..like Trent n Konate did, also ppl think we shouldn't treat players like employees, if they don't sign then you make sure they realise they won't play in any meaningful game, they sign or leave, or will be seeing a lot of the bench, stands or Carabao Cup with the kids.
Why let players hold us over a barrel.
04 Jun 2026 10:06:41
The issues we got right now is that the suits have been stupid with giving out silly money.
If I was the best player on the pitch from an effort/work rate point of view, and also solid performance-wise (his goals and assists are nothing to sniff at), I would also want similar wages to the ridiculous amount Grav and Gakpo are on (250k+). It's part of negotiating, and Hughes is the one that has us in this position.
I also read the other day from a Wenger interview that this will start to happen more and more with top players on silly money.
Other teams won't be able to afford 50-100m fees + 300k+ per week wages. He was saying he expects a lot of top players on big wages will have to run their contracts down or go for a smaller fee in their last year of contract for another team to be able to afford the silly wages. He's probably right, and it's what football is now with the stupid money thrown at players.
04 Jun 2026 11:35:39
Get him on a long contract at 170k a week, and be done with it for 4 years.
04 Jun 2026 13:35:47
What we don't need is another season of huge churn in the squad. We should be focusing on bringing in players to strengthen the squad. 7 in 9 out was too many last season. 4-5 in before sanctioning any departures should be the minimum.
Everyone in the squad is technically replacable, some are far harder to replace than others.
I'd hope Iraola gets to assess the full squad. That's why Slot's first season worked: minimal squad disruption. However, last season's business left us unbalanced, so we need to bring in more bodies to redress the balance.
We're likely to need until January for Iraola to find the best set of players to play his way, so patience is also required.
04 Jun 2026 16:34:26
I understand where you're coming from, WDW, and I agree some people go too far with their 'criticism'. I'm well up for the banter and a little too direct at times, certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but I don't support abusive behaviour. At the same time, and with all due respect, I think you may have your standards for what you expect from 'gen pop' set a little too high, after all, we are football fans, not management consultants.
I'm not making excuses for anybody, but I do, and always have expected a certain amount of unwanted behaviour; it's not ideal, but it's an unfortunate reality. Nowadays, with the (de)evolution of social media, people are operating on a hair trigger, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't guilty of it myself at times.