With just two days remaining of the transfer window, Barcelona are pushing to sign a defensive midfielder after Marc Bernal suffered a season-ending injury.
Marc Bernal, 17, sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament during the final moments of Tuesday night’s 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano and is set to undergo surgery soon.
In his post-match press conference, Hansi Flick expressed his disappointment, saying, “It’s a sad victory because Marc Bernal is injured. We won, but there’s no happiness in the dressing room. It’s tough. He played a fantastic match—17 years old and performing at that level. It hurts.”
Barcelona will need to act swiftly to replace the young talent, who has shown promise early in his career at the club. According to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, Flick is considering Frenkie de Jong and Marc Casado to fill Bernal’s role but is also exploring the possibility of signing a defensive midfielder on loan.
On Wednesday, Barcelona submitted a loan offer to Liverpool for 19-year-old Stefan Bajcetic. Fabrizio Romano reports that the bid is for €4 million (£3.3m) with no buy clause included.
Bajcetic is also attracting interest from RB Salzburg, which submitted its own loan proposal on Tuesday. Salzburg recently acquired midfielder Bobby Clark from Liverpool for a fee around £10 million.
Stefan Bajcetic was highly valued by former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. He made his debut for Liverpool in August 2022 and went on to make 19 appearances during the 2022/23 season.
However, after spending much of the following season sidelined due to injury, Bajcetic has been omitted from Arne Slot’s squad for the first two Premier League games against Ipswich Town and Brentford.
In January 2023, Bajcetic signed a four-year contract with Liverpool, just five days after making his first Premier League start.
