Barcelona are trying to hijack Red Bull Salzburg’s signing of Liverpool midfielder Stefan Bajcetic on a season-long loan.
The Spain Under-21s international had looked set to complete a temporary move to the Austrian outfit ahead of Friday’s deadline.
However, Barcelona made a surprise approach for Bajcetic today with the offer of a loan fee in the region of €4million (£3.3m; $4.4m). Liverpool must now decide which is the best option for the teenager’s development.
Bajcetic trained with Arne Slot’s squad at Kirkby today as discussions over his future continued. Feyenoord, Celta Vigo and Marseille are also among the clubs who have shown interest but it’s now a straight choice between Barcelona and Salzburg.
The Catalan giants made their move for Bajcetic after learning that young midfielder Marc Bernal ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in Tuesday’s win over Rayo Vallecano.
Former Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder Thiago has spoken to former teammate Bajcetic about the possibility of moving to Barcelona instead of Salzburg.
Salzburg head coach Pep Lijnders, who was Jurgen Klopp’s assistant at Anfield, has been desperate to be reunited with the 19-year-old, who joined Liverpool from Celta Vigo in 2020 for £224,000. Lijnders has already signed Bobby Clark from Liverpool in a £10 million deal.
Bajcetic made 19 appearances for Liverpool during a breakthrough season in 2022-23 but has been hampered by injuries since and is keen to go out on loan to get the regular game time he needs.
His exit is likely to mean that fellow midfielder Tyler Morton stays at Liverpool. Morton had been the subject of loan interest from Bayer Leverkusen but that offer has been rebuffed. Liverpool had previously made it clear they would only consider permanent offers for Morton, who is valued at around £20m.
GO DEEPER
After Stefan Bajcetic’s long road to fitness, where does he fit in at Liverpool?
(Michael Regan/Getty Images)
