Move over Nyoni: Liverpool midfield general won most duels vs Real Betis in only 26 minutes
Credit where credit is due, Liverpool’s youngsters have impressed so far in Arne Slot’s first pre-season.
Trey Nyoni (17) almost certainly stole the show with his performance against Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis. The teenager notably helped craft Dominik Szoboszlai’s opener, producing a superb line-breaking pass which kicked off a successful Reds attack.
One man’s performance that simply shouldn’t be allowed to fly under the radar, however, was that of Stefan Bajcetic’s.
Liverpool reporter Bence Bocsak was on hand on X (formerly Twitter) with a host of impressive stats from the Spaniard’s 26-minute cameo in Pittsburgh.
Despite only playing 26 minutes Stefan Bajčetić won the most duels (5) for #LFC vs Real Betis.
He also won 2/2 tackles and completed 13/15 passes. pic.twitter.com/9vL1M7J5sm
— Bence Bocsák (@BenBocsak) July 27, 2024
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The former Celta Vigo star spent a considerable proportion of the 2023/24 campaign on the sidelines due to severe growing pains.
A season for Bajcetic to make his mark?
Amidst all this talk over who Liverpool could bring in to bolster the No.6 position, you could understand Arne Slot and Richard Hughes refusing to engage with the idea.
Whilst Wataru Endo may not compare to Manchester City’s Rodri, we do have to be careful not to obstruct the pathway of an exciting talent in our 19-year-old holding midfielder.
There can, as some will no doubt be keen to point out, be risks present in throwing all our eggs in Bajcetic’s basket, of course. He may not live up to his potential, for instance, or, God forbid, suffer a career-ending injury.
On the flip side of the coin, he could save us a tonne of money if we carefully nurture him over the coming seasons and build him up to being a midfielder capable of withstanding the demands of an increasingly crazy football calendar.
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