After Man Utd was passed over, Liverpool received a massive £17 million transfer boost from the brilliant agreement.

Liverpool midfielder Stefan Bajcetic will miss the Under-21 European Championship through injury, but it has proved to be a very sensible signing.

At the moment, all eyes are on the Under-21 European Championship, and for good reason.
No less than five of Liverpool’s transfer goals all feature in the tournament in Romania and Georgia.

Ryan Gravenberch and Micky van de Ven represent the Netherlands, Khephren Thuram and Manu Kone play for France and Gabri Veiga is on duty for Spain.

Indeed, Kopites will keep an eye on the quintet and consider how they can fit into Jurgen Klopp’s plans. The Reds also have two players of their own, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott, looking to inspire England to victory.

Indeed, the tournament offers the best young talent from across the continent a chance to show what they’re all about.

During the summer, football fans whet their appetites with the under-21 European Championships, while senior citizens enjoy a well-deserved break.

And with the spotlight on young talents, we must also think of Stefan Bajectic.

The Liverpool midfielder should have been in the starting line-up to make Spain’s squad for the tournament after making a breakthrough in the 2022-23 season at Anfield despite being just 18. Indeed, a breakthrough season is an understatement.

Hardly anyone expected the midfielder to play 19 times for Jurgen Klopp this time a year ago. Nobody imagined that he would start a Champions League-16 match against Real Madrid with merit, surpassing Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita in other games.

Indeed, football often falls short of the status quo. Injuries may be one of the reasons rising stars get opportunities. But in Bajcetic’s case, it was thanks to the dismissed form of some of the senior squad members who had been instrumental to the Reds during their trophy-laden spell.

An outstanding performance in a 2–1 win over Wolves in an FA Cup fourth round replay led to a run of seven starts in the next 10 games for Bajcetic. There were wonderful performances in that run over Everton and Newcastle United.

When it turned out he was unavailable for the return leg against Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu in March – and when it was revealed he would not play for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury – it was a huge blow.

He had been a beacon of light in a busy engine room. Mo Salah even went so far as to say that Bajcetic had been Liverpool’s starting enforcer throughout his run in the XI.

It was last summer’s pre-season when Bajcetic first attracted attention. In a 5-0 friendly win against RB Leipzig, his performance off the bench in the second period was outstanding.

The Reds led by just one goal at half-time. Bajcetic’s stormy display and Darwin Nunez’s four goals drove the visitors crazy. And while Liverpool will be wary of their comeback, the teenager will be seen as a real midfield option next season.

With Alexis Mac Allister signed from Brighton for £35m and at least one other engine room operator set to join, Klopp won’t forget the maturity and composure of operations by Bajcetic.
Liverpool paid just £224,000 to sign Bajcetic from Celta Vigo.

Manchester United and Real Madrid were also interested, but the Reds missed a deadline before moving to Anfield in December 2020 following a change in Brexit rules – which meant English clubs could no longer sign new players. foreign players before the age of 18.

Bajcetic’s valuation has increased several times since then. His price tag is now worth more than £17m, according to CIES Football Observatory, while Transfrmarket put him at around £11.2m. However, Liverpool will not consider a sale. Bajcetic is both the future and the present.