Dominik Szoboszlai has insisted that his on-pitch row with Curtis Jones has been resolved - and has assured fans it will not be repeated.
Liverpool midfielder Jones was visibly unhappy at the final whistle of the 1-0 victory over Wrexham in New York. He became embroiled in a heated exchange with Szoboszlai and Kostas Tsimikas on the pitch at Yankee Stadium, following Rio Ngumoha's winner for the Reds.
What sparked the row
The row was believed to have stemmed from Tsimikas being handed the captain's armband after Szoboszlai's second-half substitution. Footage of the altercation quickly went viral across social media, with Jones appearing to voice his displeasure that Tsimikas was the stand-in skipper.
Liverpool sources have sought to play down the bust-up, arguing it is a natural by-product of a high-performance environment, and Szoboszlai and Jones have since been photographed sharing a laugh together.
Szoboszlai's response
Szoboszlai himself maintains the incident has been blown out of all proportion, while admitting he would relish the chance to succeed Andy Robertson as deputy to club captain Virgil van Dijk.
"It was never a debate between us three," Szoboszlai said. "We just discussed something on the pitch. What (which) actually after you guys make it very big. But next time we will manage to do it in the changing room."
"But no, nobody was angry at no one. It's all cleared. We are cool, everybody. No, there hasn't been any conversation [about the vice captaincy]. Obviously we have Virgil as the captain. We have Alisson. We have Joe Gomez. So there was no conversation at all. Obviously Ali is not here. Joe is injured."
"I was very proud moment to have it. And let's see. It's not my choice. It's not fixed. If you get offered the vice-captain in Liverpool FC, you're going to take it. It would be a proud moment for me. But I respect everybody."
Transfer talk
Szoboszlai also discussed Liverpool's summer transfer business, with some supporters fearing that Andoni Iraola's squad is short on depth ahead of the Spaniard's demanding first campaign at Anfield.
The Hungarian midfielder added: "That's not my job to tell you who we have to sign or if we have to sign someone. If the guys above and the manager decide to sign someone, we are very happy and going to welcome him well."
"Or them. If they decide not to, then we have to do something special with this squad. I can't wait [for the new season], honestly. I feel that we are ready to go again and take motivation from the last season."
Looking ahead
"Because as you said, it was not the best what we should do. We didn't end up there where we wanted to. So now we're going to go for it again."
"Obviously [we have] a new manager. Everyone is motivated. I think I see in everybody's eyes that he wants to play. And if you want to play, you have to give your best. And from there on, the manager is going to decide who is going to play. But everybody is on zero right now."
"I didn't speak to him about [where he wants me to play], but I think sooner or later he's going to tell me where he wants me to play."
"Or if he doesn't tell me, he's going to put me there where he wants me to play. So it doesn't matter where he plays me, I'm going to be there for the team, for him, and try to play my best. He doesn't speak after the game."
"I think every manager is different in his own way. That's how he is. He always rather to speak the day after the game, which is fine for everyone. We have to get used to this."
New signings
Szoboszlai commented after Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak made their first pre-season outings, with the pair featuring for 45 minutes in the loss to Leeds United at Soldier Field.
"Of course both of them are world-class players," Szoboszlai said. "With these kind of players I think everybody loves to play. I can talk from my side, I love to play with both of them."
"We are listening to each other as well. And I think in the next two games they will be even more fitter than they are now. Obviously they came back a little bit later but they are going to be ready for sure."
