View: 86% Liverpool ace Stefan Bajcetic could be pivotal to Arne Slot success this season
Liverpool ace Stefan Bajcetic had an injury-filled season during 2023/24 and only managed to make one Premier League appearance across the campaign.
Although he didn’t feature anywhere as near as much as he likely would have liked to, during 2022/23 he showed a spark that can’t be forgotten about.
The Spaniard might not fit straight into Arne Slot’s first team ahead of the likes of Wataru Endo or Alexis Mac Allister but he could still play an important role across the season.
Especially if the Reds choose to spend their transfer budget on other areas of the team such as defence [Fabrizio Romano, 14 July].
Stefan Bajcetic 2022/23 Premier League performance in statistics
Bajcetic did feature in one top-flight match against Tottenham last season for Jurgen Klopp but there is more to delve into from his prior season.
Back in the 2022/23 season, Fabinho was still the Reds’ number-one choice for defensive midfield since arriving at the club for a fee worth around £43.7million.
Of every player that the German welcomed to Merseyside, the addition of Fabinho is arguably one of the best bits of business during his time as manager.
The Brazilian played a total of 219 times for the Reds and managed to win both the Premier League and Champions League during his stint.
But, there were times that Bajcetic needed to be called upon in order to give the Brazilian a rest or to cover for him whilst sidelined.
During 2022/23, Bajcetic managed a total of 11 Premier League appearances and maintained a passing accuracy of 79 per cent across those clashes, according to Sofascore.
That number only goes up when looking at passes in his own half as 86 per cent of those attempted made it to their destination.
In terms of long balls and chipped passes, he managed to maintain accuracy rates of 46 per cent and 40 per cent respectively.
Indeed, these numbers might not seem too enthralling, but when the fact that the midfielder was just 18 years old at the time is taken into account, they seem pretty impressive.
Across the season, Bajcetic was mainly deployed in the defensive-midfield role but still managed to cover vast amounts of the pitch as shown by his heatmap for the Premier League season.
The midfielder spent a lot of his time drifting left in order to help cover at full-back when Andy Robertson pushed forward but all in all, he stayed fairly central.
Defensively, Bajcetic was also very strong. He managed to win 45 per cent of all duels he attempted and completed 64 per cent of the dribbles that he attempted.
He made no errors that led to goals or shots and didn’t commit any penalties.
Stefan Bajcetic compared to Romeo Lavia in 2022/23
Despite Southampton’s relegation, Romeo Lavia was at the centre of a transfer battle between Chelsea and Liverpool.
After his strong debut Premier League campaign, both clubs were vying for his transfer, and in the end, the Blues won.
In that season, however, statistically Bajcetic and Lavia weren’t too far away from one another.
As per Fbref, when comparing the careers of both Lavia and Bajcetic, there’s little to no difference in their defensive actions.
Bajcetic has made 2.13 tackles per game while Lavia has managed 2.44. In terms of interceptions, Bajcetic has made 1.48 per game whilst the Belgian has only amassed 1.32.
Granted, statistics aren’t the only way that footballers can be judged but they give you a good idea of what a player does and doesn’t do well.
With Slot’s track record of improving youngsters and turning them into world-beaters, Bajectic could thrive at Liverpool this season if he can remain injury-free.
He would be able to provide Endo with a rest here and there and perhaps even fight for his starting spot as the season goes on.
Mac Allister could also benefit from the involvement of Bajcetic in the first team as this would allow him to play in a more natural role, especially after his solid performances in Copa America.
All in all, should his form and development continue as it did under Klopp, there’s no reason why Bajcetic can’t make a name for himself this season.
In other Liverpool news, FSG have made a decision on whether to invest in Ligue 1 side Bordeaux.
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