There’s a fierce, battle-hardened look about Stefan Bajcetic this summer.
“Back on it,” he said when returning to pre-season training with Liverpool alongside the other early arrivals at the AXA Training Centre this month.
It may sound unusual to talk about a 19-year-old, who has already started against Real Madrid in the Champions League, needing to make up for lost time — Bajcetic has a head-start on others his age because of the experiences already gained in a Liverpool shirt — but there’s no escaping the physical and mental grief the last 18 months have caused during a long period of absence.
The Spaniard was introduced when other senior midfielders were unavailable at the end of 2022 — becoming the club’s third-youngest Premier League goalscorer with his strike against Aston Villa — and discovered everything that is wonderful about breaking into the first team at such a tender age.
However, Bajcetic, through no fault of his own, has since had more frustration than joy with a series of cruel injuries.
The state of his setbacks are complex. Former manager Jurgen Klopp, who rated the midfielder highly and was keen to aid his development, spoke only vaguely about the troubles. An issue around the groin area ruled him out of the final months of the 2022-23 season but he returned at the start of 2023-24 only to break down with a calf injury just six weeks into the season.
Bajcetic scored against Aston Villa in 2022 (Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images)
Unreported, as Bajcetic sat out of a further seven months last season, were further troubles with his back. These were recognised as growing pains, common in young footballers who are exposed to increased activity. Club legend Steven Gerrard was affected by similar problems during his teenage years at Liverpool in the late 1990s, with knee and back pain keeping him sidelined for long periods. Medical experts told Gerrard his pain had been caused by growing three inches in 12 months.
For Bajcetic, it meant scattered periods of pain. Just when he felt he had recovered, a problem would return, adding to the mental torture. A definitive injury with a projected return time would have been easier to deal with because there’s a clear recovery process to work through. Instead, there were moments of frustration, confusion and despair.
Take, for example, the early Europa League game away at LASK Linz in September 2023, when Bajcetic made his only first-team start of last season. This was supposed to be the beginning of the end to his fitness issues but when he felt an adverse reaction to his 61 minutes on the pitch, there were many questions left unanswered.
Under the specialist supervision of the club’s medical department, an extensive recovery programme was drawn up, often requiring rest, patience and gym time. Surgery was even considered although, on the advice of multiple specialists, it was deemed unnecessary. That was a relief for Bajcetic, but still debilitating as the pain would come and go, sometimes during or after training, and so sporadic that planning for a return was difficult.
Rebuilding a footballer at such a tender age is not easy but the Liverpool staff were kind and caring as well as open about the ongoing situation. There was light at the end of the tunnel for Bajcetic who returned to the squad late into the season, then made his comeback as a substitute in the 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Since then, there has been a spring in his step and a hunger to succeed, but also newfound patience as he understands that time is on his side.
Liverpool supporters have not forgotten him, either. They remember the promising signs he showed in the Merseyside derby in February 2023 when, on just his 13th appearance, he stood out like no other player on the pitch against Everton.
Klopp said on multiple occasions that he wanted to push him in the first team but was restricted because of his injuries. The hope at Liverpool is that new head coach Arne Slot will have Bajcetic available immediately. The midfielder has enjoyed a productive summer working on his fitness and durability and is ready to hit the ground running. Training has been intense but enjoyable and Bajcetic is fully immersed into the group again.
Stefan at work 💪 pic.twitter.com/EDb6HX7RRM
— Stefan Bajcetic Xtra (@SBMXtra) July 10, 2024
It feels like a new start for many at the club and there’s renewed hope around youth development. Slot, a former midfielder himself, is a keen developer of youngsters and has a particularly good record in improving players who operate in his old position.
Orkun Kokcu was a 23-year-old star of the Feyenoord team that won the Eredivisie title in 2023 before he was sold to Benfica for £30million ($39m) and Mats Wieffer joined for a small fee in 2022 before moving to Brighton this summer for £25million.
The challenge for Bajcetic — who played the second half of a 1-0 friendly defeat to Preston on Friday — is whether he can get ahead of senior midfielders Alexis Mac Allister, Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Liverpool have lost a midfielder this summer in Thiago, who has retired on the back of an injury-ravaged few years. Bajcetic looked up to the former Spain international but also enjoys learning from others at the club.
There is little appetite to leave this summer despite plenty of clubs showing interest. Liverpool’s transfer activity over the next two windows could change the outlook but Bajcetic wants to show what he is made of in red.
He enjoyed the taste of it as an 18-year-old and now, as he approaches his 20th birthday in October, Bajcetic is preparing for the next, and perhaps most crucial, part of the process.
He is an exciting young player who has shown that he can make an impact when called upon. With injuries hopefully behind him, the challenge is to kick on.
GO DEEPER
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(Top photo: Justin Setterfield via Getty Images)
