How Chelsea were beaten by Liverpool for the signing of Steven Bajcetic
According to a report in Sun (h/t Mirror), Chelsea had been beaten by rivals Liverpool to sign young midfielder Stefan Bajcetic from Celta Vigo in December 2020 before Brexit rules made the transfer impossible.
Chelsea and Manchester United were interested in the young wonderkid, but they were repel for fear that the player will not be allowed to enter the UK due to Brexit.
EU rules allowing British clubs to sign foreign players aged 18 and under came into effect on January 1, 2021. Liverpool acted quickly and completed Bajcetic’s transfer a month before. They paid £225,000 to get this deal on the line.
The Spain U-18 international finally arrived on Merseyside in June 2021. His performances were loved before by scouts not only from the Reds, but also from Chelsea and United.
It turned out to be a good move for Liverpool. Bajcetic has had an impressive 2022 pre-season, played a few minutes against Bournemouth in the Premier League and caught the eye of many around the Kirkby training ground.
A missed opportunity
The revelations are also comes that the player develops faster than the long-term vision the coaches had for him. So much so that he is now an option to play in midfield for the first team, benching for most league games.
Chelsea, who spent quite a bit of money signing young players this summer, would think it was a missed opportunity to sign a talented youngster.
Bajcetic is a rare talent who has charisma on the ball, can physically dominate games and has a great sense of space on the pitch. Probably an ideal midfielder who has the potential to become something special.
It would have been better if the Blues had broken their necks that time and signed this kid. Nevertheless, we ended up with two young midfielders this summer.
More Chelsea news:
The Blues have acquired the services of Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa and Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan. However, it remains to be seen when the duo will have their chance to make an impression with our first team.
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