Man Utd lost out on Liverpool star Stefan Bajcetic after 'disagreement with his dad'
Liverpool starlet Stefan Bajcetic could have been playing for bitter rivals Manchester United were it not for a disagreement during negotiations for the midfielder
Manchester United missed out on the chance to sign Liverpool wonderkid Stefan Bajcetic after attempting to drive the midfielder's price down.
The youngster emerged as a bright spark from an otherwise lacklustre 2022/23 season. But it now transpires he could have been impressing in a different shade of red, according to The Athletic.
While he was a promising talent at Celta Vigo, Bajcetic and his father were contacted by United who wished to bring the Spaniard back to Carrington.
However, a disagreement over the fee that would be paid lead to the deal collapsing. And Liverpool swept in to pick up the pieces by signing the then 17-year-old just months later.
READ MORE: Man Utd staff 'messed up' Pedro Neto deal and signed reserve player over Benjamin SeskoREAD MORE: Liverpool failed with monster bid for Euro 2024 record breaker before signing TWO flopsIt is reported that United approached the defensive midfielder, who can also play as a centre-half, in 2020 whilst scouring the market for a young defender and even came to an initial agreement.
However, ex-football negotiations manager Sam Barnett is said to have contacted Bajcetic's father, requesting that he remove his son from Celta Vigo, so that only €100,000 compensation would have to be paid to secure his signature.
Bajcetic's father, Srdjan – a former player with Vigo and an employee of the club – refused to do so, and the young defender went on to join United's rivals.
Ex-head of academy recruitment assistant at United, Lyndon Tomlinson, spoke to The Athletic on the matter, admitting that the minimal cost for Bajcetic may not have been worth turning their noses up at.
He said: “United still needed a centre-back. So we went to the next one on the list: ‘Well, we’re gonna have to go and watch him, which will cost money’.
"Then we got to about fourth on the list, and we said, ‘Look, they’re on the list to give context, but we’re not confident of going and paying money for one of those’.”
A lot has changed since Bajcetic last fully featured in Liverpool's midfield. In September, he suffered a calf injury that kept him out until April. With the arrival of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch last summer, as well as another midfielder expected to be purchased this window, competition will be plentiful.
Having now recovered, Bajcetic will hope to impress new manager Arne Slot. Yet, he could have been reporting to a very different Dutch coach at Old Trafford had the deal not collapsed.
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