SALZBURG, AUSTRIA - Wednesday, July 27, 2022: Liverpool's Stefan Bajcetic (R) during a pre-season friendly between FC Red Bull Salzburg and Liverpool FC at the Red Bull Arena. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Liverpool fans “all in” on Stefan Bajcetic as teenager impresses again

After a standout display against RB Leipzig last week, 17-year-old midfielder Stefan Bajcetic caught the eye again against Salzburg, exciting Liverpool fans.

Going into pre-season, few will have been overly familiar with Bajcetic, who only played his first full campaign at academy level last time out.

But the Spanish-Serb has been one of the success stories of the summer so far, with strong performances against RB Leipzig and Salzburg over the past week.

Signed from Celta Vigo just before the Brexit deadline in early 2021, Bajcetic has been converted from a centre-back to a No. 6, with his apprenticeship continuing against Man United and Crystal Palace.

Wednesday night’s trip to Salzburg marked a first senior start for the teenager, who reflected on a “happy” moment on Instagram.

It was an encouraging night for many fans watching on, too, taking to Twitter in their numbers to hail Bajcetic’s early impact.

https://twitter.com/Ifcelliot/status/1552354209160478720

https://twitter.com/BrazeyTAA/status/1552426834578522113


While it would be wrong to go overboard on a handful of pre-season performances from a 17-year-old with no first-team experience, it is clear that Bajcetic is a talented player.

He was one of the standouts in the academy last term, particularly following his switch to midfield, and could take a big step forward with the under-21s this time out.

It remains to be seen whether he will skip straight to the first team, as many clearly hope, but these outings against Leipzig and Salzburg – two Champions League sides – could stand him in good stead.

For now, though, it will be a patient approach with Bajcetic, whose career is still very much in its infancy.

Let’s perhaps not go “all in” just yet!