Red Bull Salzburg are set to beat Barcelona to the signature of Liverpool midfielder Stefan Bajcetic, who is reportedly moving to Austria on a season-long loan.

19-year-old Bajcetic struggled with injuries last season but is looking to reignite his career out on loan, with Salzburg keen to reunite him with manager Pep Lijnders, who was Jurgen Klopp’s assistant at Anfield.

A loan deal appeared straight-forward before Barcelona launched a late hijack attempt in the aftermath of Marc Bernal’s nasty injury, although the Catalan giants are believed to have failed to navigate La Liga’s financial regulations and could not complete a deal.

The Athletic state Bajcetic is now heading to Salzburg on a simple one-year loan that does not include the option for a permanent transfer.

Not only will Bajcetic reunite with Lijnders, but he could play in midfield alongside 19-year-old Bobby Clark, who made the permanent switch from Liverpool earlier this month.

Following news of Barcelona’s offer, Bajcetic’s father Srdjan admitted they had been caught by surprise by the La Liga giants’ interest.

“The news about Barca’s interest surprised us all. We weren’t expecting this news,” he told RAC1. “We had everything ready to go to Salzburg.

“Every parent wants the best for their child and obviously I would like for him to one day be able to play for a team as big as Barcelona or Liverpool.”

Bajcetic made waves when he broke through into Klopp’s senior side in January 2023 but saw his momentum brought to a halt by an injury which ended his campaign just two months later.

He recovered in time for the 2023/24 campaign but quickly suffered a serious calf injury which ultimately restricted him to just 234 minutes across six appearances in all competitions.

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