Liverpool star not getting ‘carried away’ by Salah ‘best player’ claim after Slot transfer decision

Liverpool starlet Stefan Bajcetic insists he is trying “not to get carried away” by Mohamed Salah labelling him the “best player” at the club.

The Reds enjoyed a good start to his Liverpool career with the 20-year-old Spaniard putting in a number of good performances as he impressed in 11 Premier League appearances in 2022/23.

Bajcetic, who joined the Reds from Celta Vigo in 2020, even won the club’s Player of the Month award for January 2023 while playing under Jurgen Klopp.

He was particularly impressive in a Merseyside Derby at Anfield that season and Liverpool team-mate Salah heaped praise on the youngster after the match.

Salah said at the time: “He’s a great player and person, he always tries to work hard. Since he started playing for us, he has been our best player maybe, so hopefully he keeps that confidence and keeps going.”

But Bajcetic, who is currently on a season-long loan at Austrian side RB Salzburg, is trying to keep his feet on the ground and hoping to continue learning.

Bajcetic told Spanish newspaper Marca this week: “When Salah tells you these things you try not to get carried away.

“When Klopp or players of that calibre tell you these things, it gives you more confidence to go into training the next day and give more. You try to keep your feet on the ground and continue learning from the best.”

Arne Slot, who replaced Klopp in the summer, thought Bajcetic’s development would be best aided by a loan spell away from Anfield with Liverpool’s midfield ranks currently well-stocked.

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Liverpool boss Slot said of Bajcetic’s loan spell at RB Salzburg in August: “I hope it will be a big year for him because he’s a very talented player and I think he could become a very important player for us, but only if he gets playing time now.

“If you are that young and you’ve been out for so long, the only thing you need is playing time. He could have playing time over here, but we’ve got six or seven very good midfielders, so his playing time here will always be more limited than we expect him to play at Salzburg.

“So for him, and us, we think it’s best for him to play at the moment, instead of maybe playing a few times and then being on the bench for a long time again. It’s very difficult to keep a player fit who’s been out for 15 months when you only play him once in a while.

“So this is for the long term. Again, this club has been smart, in my opinion, in the past for not only looking for the short term, but also the long term. It’s a smart decision, at least in our opinion, to let him go somewhere, where he will hopefully play a lot of games.

“Then for next season, we’ll have a player. If he fulfils his potential, [he] could definitely, definitely play for us in the future.”