Jurgen Klopp has suggested that he may pick teenage midfielder Stefan Bajcetic to start for Liverpool soon.
In quotes from The Athletic, Klopp was responding to calls for Liverpool to sign a new midfielder. Dismissing suggestions that The Reds’ current options are too old, Klopp claimed he would have ‘no problem’ starting Bajcetic.
The Liverpool boss even said that we could soon see the 17-year-old as part of a young midfield three with Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho.
“We could name a young line-up in midfield, a really young line-up and they are already here. We could start with Stefan Bajcetic at No 6, believe it or not, he could play that, with Harvey and Fabio,” said Klopp.
“The average age would be 18 I think. I would do that, no problem at all. Does it make immediate sense? I am not sure but I could do it. In a year, (it would be) great.”
Liverpool’s young talent getting more game-time
In the clamour for new signings, the options you do currently have can often be overlooked.
When it comes to Liverpool’s midfield, there are certainly plenty of options, that has never been in doubt. The question is more a case of ‘are those options suitable?’
As you’re trying to battle on all fronts, is it wise to lean so heavily on injury-prone players and youngsters?
The answer is almost certainly no. But in the cases of Bajcetic, Elliott and Carvalho, Liverpool do possess some abnormally talented prospects.
With Elliott and Carvalho, this is not a surprise. Elliott’s talents have long been seen as prodigious and Carvalho was brought to the club to compete in the first-team.
But the emergence of Bajcetic is less expected. The Spanish youngster was excellent in pre-season and impressed enough that he has already made his Premier League debut this season.
Bajcetic the new midfielder Liverpool are looking for?
In terms of Klopp’s midfield options, Bajcetic can be seen as addition to the expected group. That doesn’t mean that he should be thrust into the spotlight, but the manager obviously sees him as a player he can use.
This shouldn’t have had an impact on Liverpool’s transfer dealings. They still need a midfielder, but it now looks desperately unlikely that they’ll get one.
As a result of that failure to strengthen, Bajcetic could now be the one to profit. He likely hadn’t expected to be involved in the first-team this season. Four games in though, and he’s now been a part of every single Premier League matchday squad.
With players to return from injury, this will change soon. But reading Klopp’s comments here, it might not be long until we start seeing Bajcetic feature on a more regular basis.
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