Under the radar, Liverpool starlet Stefan Bajcetic is making considerable progress at Anfield, slowly integrating into the first-team fold and impressing with his maturity and composure.

Indeed, the central defender, also excelling in aNo. 6role more recently under Klopp’s watchful eye, has been a key figure at Liverpool’s midseason training camp – due to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – and has quickly emerged as a popular figure among the senior Red ranks.

And now having played an important role during Liverpool’s3-1loss to Olympique Lyonnais, the 18-year-old might be on his way to wedging his way into Klopp’s regular plans. 

TheLiverpool Echogave him an 8/10 rating, praising him for his aggressive tackling and role in providing a base for offensive players to work from, lauding the young Spaniard for “looking more and more like a first-team player by the minute.”

With the midfield department infamously in need of reinforcing at Anfield at present, Bajcetic could do a job in acting as a stand-in anchor when necessary, also filling in the central defence. 

Having scouted the young ace in 2019, Liverpool are reported to have offered Bajcetic’s former club, Celta Vigo, a fee of£224,000one year ago to secure his services. 

And with the burgeoning talent signing his first professional contract with the club lastNovember, his ascension to prominence is well and truly underway. 

Now having madefiveprofessional appearances under Klopp’s helm, Bajcetic will know that further progress will result in an increasingly important role in the Liverpool team, as they chase major honours across all fronts, domestically and continental. 

Should he continue to ply his trade in the centre of defence, the ace will be able to attempt to emulate and learn from Virgil van Dijk, who signed for the Reds from Southampton in a lucrative£75mdeal. 

The Dutchman has gone on to become one of the most devastating and feared defenders in the world, becoming one of the most integral elements in Klopp’s Liverpool project. 

Bajcetic can learn from Van Dijk’s composed nature and ball-playing prowess to great effect, channelling his own aura as a budding presence creeping towards a regular role with his club. 

Bajcetic, described as “hungry” by Liverpool assistant manager Pep Ljinders, will need to use that empty belly to forge a path to prominence with the Merseyside outfit, with the coach also labelling him “a joy to watch,”

In his only start for the club, in the Carabao CupagainstDerby County, Bajcetic completed 57 (75%) of his passes and won possession five times, sweeping up in the centre of the park and utilising his strengths with maturity beyond his years.

Whether he plays as an anchor or a centre-back, Bajcetic’s future is bright, and he must be unleashed sooner rather than later. Alongside the likes of Van Dijk, he will continue to flourish and blossom into a force to be reckoned with.