Mohamed Salah heralded as "best player" before the young star was loaned out by Arne Slot to Red Bull Salzburg. The 20 year old talent shone brightly for Liverpool in the tumultuous 2022/23 season, quickly emerging as a silver lining during a challenging period for the team.

His journey from his arrival from Celta Vigo in 2020 to prominence began with impressing in the U21s and making an impact in first-team training sessions. This prompted the then-boss to give him his big break.

Bajcetic seized his opportunity with gusto, not least when he made his mark with a debut substitute appearance against Bournemouth at just 17, netting a memorable goal against Aston Villa soon after. Another highlight was his breathtaking outing in the Merseyside Derby at Anfield, a performance that crowned him Liverpool's Player of the Month for January 2023.

After witnessing his prowess against Everton, couldn't help but sing his praises, acclaiming post-match: "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."

Reflecting on the praise from Salah, Stefan Bajcetic told Marca: "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.", reports .

His promising trajectory at Liverpool was unfortunately disrupted by a season-ending injury, which also impacted his playtime in the following season. During this period, Bajcetic focused on personal growth off the pitch.

To aid his return to full fitness, Liverpool loaned him out to RB Salzburg, where he teamed up with former Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders. New Reds boss Slot has expressed his aspirations for Bajcetic's development, acknowledging the youngster's potential but also his need for regular game time to secure a spot in the competitive midfield lineup.

"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," said Slot.

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