Liverpool academy coach says his players really look up to Stefan Bajcetic

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Liverpool U18’s academy coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson has spoken about how Stefan Bajcetic is an inspiration to all the youngsters at the club.

Speaking in an interview with the club’s official site, the academy boss relayed how the Spaniard made his way through the ranks at Kirkby, and how impressed he was when he featured for his youth team.

“Our main objective at U18 level is to develop players so they are ready to make the next step to the U21s and then one day, hopefully, the first team,” said Bridge-Wilkinson.

“We have seen a few of the boys make that transition this season, with Stefan and Ben Doak getting their opportunities, and that is absolutely fantastic for them and everybody at the Academy.

“Stefan came into the club at Christmas time in his U16 year and when he started getting up to speed with the group he came into our U18s team. We have worked with Stefan for probably 15 or 16 months, and he played for us as a centre-back first.

“You can’t dismiss the quality that he shows, his understanding of the game is very good, his technical ability with the ball and also the way he defends as well, it was a really interesting addition Stefan coming in.

“He took to Liverpool really quickly, which was fantastic, and he deserves an awful lot of credit for the way he settled in because it’s not easy coming over to a new country and speaking English as your second language – albeit he did speak English when he came, but he understood it and he picked up the language so quickly.

“His game is fantastic and he came in and hit the ground running, so he deserves a lot of credit for that.

“All of the boys who come through the Academy and end up in the first-team squad, these are players all of our young players look up to.

“We can’t forget that Stefan could still play in the U18 group that I look after. He is an inspiration for the group on a daily basis.”

Bridge-Wilkinson full of praise for Bajcetic

Since coming into Jurgen Klopp’s first-team this season, Bajcetic has been a revelation on Merseyside.

He has made 15 appearances across the Premier League and Champions League – having provided fresh energy in Liverpool’s stagnant midfield, for which he has been hailed as ‘exceptional’ by the manager himself.

In what came as a huge blow to the player and the club, the 18-year-old suffered a tear in his abductor muscle, ruling him out of contention for the remainder of the campaign.

This shows just how important it is to ease youngsters in slowly, as playing too regularly can sometimes cause issues later down the line.

Hopefully Bajcetic can make a swift recovery and get back to full fitness over the summer, in time for next season.

By that point, he is expected to be joined by a number of new faces in the middle of the park.