Pre-season often presents academy players with what they crave most: exposure to first-team football.
Every summer at just about every club, a selection of standout youth players seem to get entire fanbases talking about their performances. For Liverpool in recent weeks, Stefan Bajcetic has been one of those rising stars.
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After featuring for a combined 139 minutes in the warm-up games so far against Manchester United, Crystal Palace, RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg, the holding midfielder, who is of Spanish and Serbian descent, has earned many new admirers.
It was fitting the 17-year-old’s first minutes for the senior side arrived against United in Bangkok, given they were the other team battling for his signature in December 2020.
Liverpool worked hard to convince Bajcetic and his family that Merseyside was the right place for him, though. They were won over by Liverpool’s advances, which were led by academy director Alex Inglethorpe, and Bajcetic made the switch from hometown side Celta Vigo in north west Spain for a fee of €250,000 (about £224,000).
It had been a rush to get a deal over the line. Post-Brexit regulations were going to come into place at the start of 2021 — new rules that meant clubs could no longer sign overseas players under the age of 18.
Bajcetic, who was 16 at the time of his arrival, is the last in a line of players who just made the cut. In light of recent displays, Liverpool will be feeling thankful for that.
Since joining the club, Bajcetic has featured for the under-18s and under-23s as a centre-back, but more recently he has been playing as a defensive midfielder. This was not an unexpected transition. He is a two-footed and multi-talented player whose versatility was one of the main reasons they acquired him.
“He has amazing physical characteristics. He is extremely quick, makes good recoveries, has a great spring, is really impressive in the air and carries the ball cleanly out of defence,” Alex Otero, youth football co-ordinator at Celta, told The Athletic in January 2021. “It was clear he was a standout player in his age group. He can really play and help construct attacks but he is also noticeable for his comfort with his left and right foot and the ability to play on the right or left of the centre-backs. That is quite rare.”
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When he stepped onto the pitch against United in Thailand on July 12, it was not just his debut at senior level but also his first game for six months.
A back injury in late January closed the curtains on his 2021-22 season but failed to deflate his optimism — he was often seen cheering on his team-mates during academy games at weekends.
Bajcetic, who left his family and friends behind in Spain when he moved to the UK, showed little sign of rustiness in Bangkok when stepping into a position usually dominated by Fabinho.
One of Fabinho’s best qualities is his constant scanning of the pitch. It’s something Thiago does well, too. Both are always looking for spaces, for team-mates, and for the whereabouts of the opposition.
It’s an attribute Bajcetic, whose dad Srdan was a Serbia international with a career spanning four countries including Spain, has already added to his game.
In the opening minutes in Salzburg on Wednesday, the teenager was on the lookout.
When Harvey Elliott was in possession, Bajcetic glanced over his shoulder to seemingly map out nearby players and spaces.
After that look back, he peeped over to his left, where Curtis Jones, Fabio Carvalho and James Milner were all unmarked.
When the pass arrived from Elliott, Bajcetic controlled the ball on his left foot at the edge of the centre circle and invited the closest Salzburg player to challenge him.
As the opposition player drew nearer, he released a pass across to Jones.
This close control and confidence when operating in tight spaces is something Fabinho and Thiago excel at.
Bajcetic’s on-pitch poise will only develop as he matures but place him in the middle of a group of opposition players and he already looks assured.
When Milner passed to Bajcetic in the 11th minute, he was in the middle of a rectangle of Salzburg players. Already aware of them and their positioning, he again lured them towards him before releasing the ball to Jones.
Inviting pressure and coping in tight spaces are things Liverpool’s midfielders are constantly forced to do.
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Another staple for them is dropping deep to help build play from the back.
Often, we will see goalkeeper Alisson distribute the ball to a midfield player such as Fabinho, Thiago or Jordan Henderson when his centre-backs are being marked.
When a similar scenario occurred against RB Leipzig last Thursday, Bajcetic showed up for then-keeper Harvey Davies and offered to do the same. Once he received the ball, he did not panic when pressed…
…instead, he calmly laid a pass off to Milner.
When it comes to the passing game, Bajcetic can hit the ball with either foot.
So far, his simple passes have been executed with a high degree of accuracy. That is not to say the teenager has not attempted the more flamboyant kind. He has — they have just been misplaced or overhit.
In the instance below against United, Bajcetic tried to set Bobby Clark away through the middle…
…but was apologising (circled below) as soon as the pass had left his boot. He instantly knew it was not good enough.
That did not discourage him though.
A few minutes later, he attempted another pass with the same youthful ingenuity. This time it was in the direction of Jones but, again, the execution wasn’t quite there.
As his academy education continues, Bajcetic will want to ramp up his accuracy and decision-making in moments like those.
If he wants to become a world-class midfielder, like the players he has found himself training alongside this summer, he will need to find the balance between when to play it simple and when to be more ambitious.
Tackling and winning back possession are crucial attributes for a defensive midfielder. Bajcetic certainly has an appetite for disruption.
Against Salzburg, the Spain youth international slid in well to claim the ball.
He then got in a tangle, but tenaciously emerged from it still in possession.
His hunger to fight for the ball was impressive. He did the same at times in the United game where, like Fabinho, he stalked and hunted it down.
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Here, he pursued Facundo Pellistri before eventually dispossessing the Uruguayan.
Bajcetic’s performances in pre-season have been eye-catching, but there are plenty of steps to climb.
First, he needs to avoid injury. He also has to add strength to his frame and work on that passing accuracy.
However, the excitement Liverpool fans are feeling is justified, and there is a reason it is being shared by the coaching staff.
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