Stefan Bajčetić has told Marca that Liverpool had to act quickly to secure his signing from Celta Vigo.
The Reds agreed a deal with the La Liga side in December 2020, for him to arrive at the club in January 2021.
Liverpool initially signed the midfielder for their U18 side in January 2021. They showed interest in him when he was 17 years of age.
At the start of 2021, the United Kingdom left EU, and the British clubs weren’t able to sign foreign players below the age of 18 years. Therefore, the Premier League side had to wrap up the deal for Bajčetić in a short time.
The 20-year-old revealed this when Marca asked what it was like when his father told him about Liverpool’s interest.
“He had been testing me for a while, but he didn’t tell me anything. One day before class I saw in a newspaper that I was going to England,” he said.
“I knew something but not much, it was more rumours. Then I got to class and everyone knew that I had signed for Liverpool, it was a mess.”
“It was done very quickly because of Brexit. I’m talking about December and in January you could no longer sign a player under 18 years of age from the European Union because the United Kingdom were leaving it. It had to be done very quickly, and, in a week, I was already traveling.”
Jürgen Klopp promoted the Spain U21 international to the first team in 2022 and he made 22 appearances so far.
The Spaniard spent the majority of last year on the sidelines due to an injury. When asked how he managed it, Bajčetić explained: “We were just playing at the Bernabéu and that week I got injured.”
“The first time I thought, it’s normal. I have played many games after a long time, many in a row, it can happen. It was long but I handled it quite well.”
“Then I recovered and as soon as I recovered, I had the same injury that was another five or six months and that was already harder. I approached it as an opportunity to improve in other aspects.”
“I got my driving license, became even more independent and tried to learn new things. More work in the gym and you value much more, when you return, each workout, the importance of work in the gym and prevention. It’s hard, but in the end it all works out.”
Arne Slot’s side sent him on loan to Red Bull Salzburg in the summer, and Bajčetić made 11 appearances so far for them. The Austrian club have qualified for next summer’s FIFA Club World Cup.
Marca asked whether the Liverpool owned player wants to play in the Club World Cup or the U21 European championship with Spain.
“Being on loan in Salzburg and since Liverpool are not going to the World Cup, I have the option of choosing whether to return to Liverpool or do the World Cup with Salzburg,” he added.
“If I return to Liverpool, I have an option to come to the European Championship and it is something that would make me very excited.
“I missed the last Games and European championships due to injury. I have never been to a championship like this with the national team, I am looking forward to it.”
