Barcelona submit offer for Liverpool star in dramatic hijack attempt ...

Barcelona have made a shock loan offer for Liverpool star Stefan Bajcetic in an attempt to hijack RB Salzburg’s move for the midfielder, per reports.

The talented 19-year-old was rated highly by former manager Jurgen Klopp but new boss Arne Slot is open to sending him out on loan this season.

RB Salzburg were thought to be closing in on a deal for Bajcetic after submitting an offer for him on Tuesday, but Barcelona are now pushing for him in a major twist.

That’s according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, who claims that the Catalans are keen to sign Bajcetic as a temporary replacement for Marc Bernal.

Bernal, 17, is considered to be one of Barcelona’s most exciting prospects but will be out for the foreseeable future after suffering a serious ACL injury.

“Barcelona have submitted a straight loan proposal to Liverpool for talented midfielder Stefan Bajcetic,” Romano posted on X.

“More exclusive details: loan bid worth €4m (£3.4m) fee, NO buy clause. After loan bid from RB Salzburg on Tuesday, now Barça try to make it happen after Bernal injury.”

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Romano reiterates in a later update that Barcelona do not want to include a buy option in Bajcetic’s loan deal, which is preferable for Liverpool as they view him as a future star of the club.

Salzburg, meanwhile, are ‘still waiting’ to sign the midfielder, but it’s likely that Bajcetic will choose Barcelona over them due to the stature of the LaLiga giants.

As mentioned, Slot is open to loaning the teenager out this season but doing so could prove to be a costly mistake if Liverpool don’t sign a new midfielder before the transfer window closes.

The Reds’ top target for much of this summer was Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi but the Spaniard snubbed the move to Anfield despite an agreement being reached over a fee.

That leaves Slot with Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones and Wataru Endo as his defensive midfield options and the manager isn’t convinced by the latter two.

Liverpool are expected to be busy ahead of the transfer deadline but a new midfielder isn’t their priority, with Juventus winger Federico Chiesa set to sign a four-year deal with the club.

Slot is also keen to bring in a new midfielder and RB Leipzig’s Mohamed Simakan is on their shortlist, but a deal is not advanced at this stage.

Bajcetic is on his way out though so it will be interesting to see if Liverpool do make a late move for a new centre-mid.

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