Roy Hodgson makes Dominik Szoboszlai and Liverpool 'no prizes' transfer point

Former Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson pointed to Dominik Szoboszlai as an example of the kind of player Crystal Palace could only dream of signing when praising his team's ability to compete.

Palace have been a Premier League side for over a decade now, finishing no higher than 10th and no lower than 15th in that time.

Hodgson managed the club between 2017 and 2021, before returning earlier this year for a surprise second spell. Twelve matches into the campaign his Eagles sit 13th - firmly occupying that mid-table spot they have done for so many years now.

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Speaking on the achievement of having such longevity in the Premier League via the Evening Standard, the 76-year-old revealed his amazement.

"I think it's quite amazing that we as a football club - and we're not alone, I put other clubs in the category - can compete as well as we do in what has become a very uneven playing field.

"Because so many teams above us are able to go out and scour Europe, scour the continent, scour Africa for the best players."

Over the last five years Palace sit 15th in the current list of top-flight clubs for net spend (-£102m). So Hodgson's next unprompted comment comes as a double-edged sword.

He continued: "There's no prizes for working out that Szoboszlai is a good player, but the fact is only certain clubs could get that player. So we have to accept to work hard with the ones we've got to try and get them to reach the best level they can, and compete at an equal level with these players.

"That's what Palace have done for a number of years, it's what Palace will continue to do."

On the one hand