The virtues, flaws and fit of Bajcetic, the pivot that Barça wants to reinforce the midfield

FC Barcelona have chosen Stefan Bajcetic as the surprise signing for the pivot after Marc Bernal's serious injury forced him to miss the season. The Catalan club has set its sights on the Spanish footballer with Serbian nationality to fill the gap left by the youth player in Hansi Flick's squad and is already negotiating with Liverpool for a paid loan of 4 million euros without an option to buy.

At 19 years old, the player already knows what it is like to wear the shirt of a Premier League giant. The midfielder landed in Merseyside in January 2021, when he was barely 16 years old. At that time, the player was still part of the Celta de Vigo youth team when the 'red' club paid 250,000 euros for his transfer. Stefan played as a central defender, but after analysing his profile, Jurgen Klopp decided to move him up the field to play as a pivot.

He made his debut in August 2022 at just 17 years old, playing the final 20 minutes of the historic 9-0 thrashing of Southampton, becoming the youngest non-British footballer to debut with Liverpool's first team. Curiously, Bajcetic came on to the field to replace Thiago Alcántara, a former Blaugrana player, thus 'tying' his destiny to the Catalan club in a certain way.

Quality and size

The 1.85-metre midfielder is strong in one-on-one situations and has a great ability to anticipate. His tactical reading allows him to position himself correctly in the centre of the field, being able to occupy a lot of space in midfield. On an offensive level, he has great driving skills and very good ball handling, characterised by bringing the ball out cleanly from the back and correctly fulfilling the role of playmaker.

In addition, his versatility makes him a very useful 'tool' for his coaches. He is a footballer who can play both in defence and in midfield and who is good at playing in the centre and also lying on the right wing, where he played, for example, against Aston Villa on the day he scored his first goal with the Liverpool shirt.

Injuries, his big problem

However, his physical problems have prevented him from accelerating his progress. Injuries have been his only 'cross', with an adductor problem preventing him from finishing the season in which he had earned a place among Klopp's chosen eleven. Once he recovered from this setback before the start of the 23/24 season, a new calf injury kept him off the pitch for 192 days, returning in April of this year but already in the dynamics of the red subsidiary. Now, with these misfortunes in the past, he will seek redemption wearing the Barça shirt, which is excited by his quality and projection.