Pep Lijnders has shared his disbelief that he was able to sign Stefan Bajcetic on loan from Liverpool this summer
The Dutchman stood down as the Reds assistant manager at the end of last season, leaving alongside Jurgen Klopp and the rest of his backroom staff.
He subsequently took over as Red Bull Salzburg manager and turned to his former club to sign Bobby Clark in a £10m deal, before landing Bajcetic on loan
The signing of the young Spaniard was even more of a transfer coup as the Austrians saw off interest from Barcelona.
Lijnders has won six of his nine matches in charge of Salzburg to date, guiding his side into the Champions League league phase in the process.
Salzburg return to action after the September international break at home to SK Austria Klagenfurt on Saturday, with Bajcetic hoping to be in contention to make his debut
having been surprised that the 19-year-old was both available for loan and interested in joining Red Bull Salzburg, Lijnders has said supporters will soon see exactly why he is so excited
Lijnders
“It’s unbelievable that he became available,”
“I remember the first scouting meeting we had, it was already clear that he would be interested to join us.”
“So that was already, ‘Wow, okay, that would be amazing.’ Now he’s joining a Champions League team, a team full of talent. He is a great addition.
“Stefan is a guy who is Serbian and Spanish. This combination makes him really special in my opinion.
“He has Serbian like the knife between the teeth, like the challenges, the tackles. At the same time he has Spanish with possessing the ball.
“I like to work with young players. My dream was that we could win titles with young players at Liverpool and we did that in.
“In the last season we won the League Cup at Wembley with them.
“But not even that, just bringing young players from the academy, I feel always that when the inside pathway at the academy is strong, you always create a healthy club.”
“Giving young players the chances to make the steps with the first team, with experienced players, but to make the steps and grow as a person and grow into the football world as a special player, because they need to have something really special.
“That’s what I like about Stefan as well. He has really special things like the challenges, the way he turns. At the stadium you will all see these things, he will be massive for us!”
Bajcetic has admitted that Lijnders played a big role in his decision to join Salzburg
Bajcetic
Yeah, I’m really, really excited to work under Pep Lijnders again,”
“To see the club, to see the players and hopefully playing soon and enjoying playing football again.
“Obviously there is a good manager that I know so I think that will help me to get the minutes I need, to get another experience as well in a team that can win the league.
“They play Champions League as well, which is the biggest competition.”
“When I had a run of games, I was playing a lot. Obviously I played Real Madrid in the Champions League at Anfield. It was a very good experience but didn’t end up that well because we lost.”
“To play those big games is what I was hoping to play as a kid, to play in those big games is what you want when you’re a footballer and it’s what I enjoy the most.
On an individual side, I want to play the most games I can.
“Play a lot of games, play a lot of minutes, stay fit. Hopefully everything will work out. I have no doubt that I am going to give everything on the pitch and win all the trophies for this club.
“The club is known for developing young players over the years, so hopefully I can be one of those as well.
“For me and Bobby (Clark) as young players, it’s very exciting to come here.
“We already have the trust with the manager, that he already saw us. And Liverpool is a huge club as well. If you do well in the other teams, you end up at the big teams like Liverpool.”
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