The start of pre-season means the introduction of a dreaded Lactate test – which was applicable for two of the biggest summer signings in Jude Bellingham and Dominik Szoboszlai. There is an interesting connection between the two and that is obviously Liverpool.
Bellingham flirted with a move to Anfield for a long time before his £100 million move to Real Madrid. He was heavily linked with Liverpool, until they backed out after being unable to afford him. Instead, the Reds focused their attention of signing another midfielder. They ended up signing two – Alexis Mac Allister and Szoboszlai in well under £100 million.
What is the Lactate Test?
Now, both the two major summer signings are looking to begin their careers at their new clubs. At first, the initial stages for any new signing is to improve their fitness levels before they can adapt to the change in playing style. As a result, many top-level managers have implemented the Lactate Test.
The Lactate Test in football is a test that is used to measure a player’s endurance levels. The players are made to run long, increasing distances at speed from one checkpoint to the other. At the end of each checkpoint, a sample of blood is collected from the player’s ear before it is used to measure the Lactate acid levels in their bodies.
If a player’s lactate acid levels are too high, they are made to drop off. However, the players who manage to keep their lactate acid levels at normal measure while running long distances at a stretch without becoming exhausted are made to continue doing it until they end up winning the Lactate test.
Szoboszlai and Bellingham’s contrasting performance in Lactate Tests
At Liverpool, Szoboszlai appears to have excelled in the latest Lactate test in the 2023 pre-season training. In footage posted of the lactate test being held between the players, the Hungarian midfielder appears to have won it and covered the most amount of distance while keeping their lactate levels balanced.
He seemingly managed to beat out competition from Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo in this test, proving a point to his new manager about his impressive endurance levels. On the other hand, Bellingham couldn’t really impress in the Lactate test held by Real Madrid in their pre-season training.
It doesn’t appear that the English midfielder is a fan of being made to undergo the test at the club. A picture of him has gone viral in which Bellingham can be seen visibly gasping for air and way behind the Real Madrid players in the Lactate test running sessions.
A possible reason behind Bellingham’s low fitness levels is because of an injury he nursed towards the end of last season. He struggled with a knee injury and even reported to Real Madrid training with strapping around his knee to protect it from further harm.
So it’s safe to assume that the English midfielder couldn’t do much exercise at all in the summer window or work on keeping his fitness levels high. The 20-year-old seems to be in need of some more time to regain his peak fitness levels before he can start soaring at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Szoboszlai, on the other hand, appears to have arrived at Liverpool with high energy levels and a determination to excel from day one. Winning the Lactate test has not only garnered him more love from the fans, but must’ve also impressed Jurgen Klopp and improved his chances of playing regularly for Liverpool from the start of the season.