Liverpool youngster Stefan Bajcetic is part of the squad who have travelled to Thailand for the first leg of their pre-season tour in the far east.
The Reds have touched down in Thailand and confirmed the 37 players who could feature against Manchester United on Tuesday. Liverpool will then travel to Singapore ahead of the clash against Crystal Palace on Friday.
Among the players named are a number of youngsters, including the likes of Luke Chambers, Bobby Clark, Leighton Clarkson, Harvey Davies, Melkamu Frauendorf, Tom Hill, Tyler Morton, Fabian Mrozek, James Norris, Rhys Williams and Sepp van den Berg.
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Some of them are already on the fringes of Jurgen Klopp's side and have first team appearances under their belt. Others, such as Bajcetic, are early into their Liverpool careers but could be one to watch this pre-season.
Bajcetic, 17, joined the club from Spanish side Celta Vigo in early 2021 and he signed his first professional contract in November last year. The versatile youngster can play either as a central defender or midfielder.
Following his arrival in January last year, he made just four appearances for the Under-18s. However, it was last season he made the step up and even went on to make his under-23 debut.
Last term, he made 22 appearances in all competitions, three of which came in Premier League 2 (U23 level). He scored twice in the U18 Premier League and once in the UEFA Youth League, against Porto in the group stages.
Bajcetic is a Spanish U18 international, despite being the son of former Serbian international Srdjan Bajcetic. Last season the youngster played an almost equal number of games at centre-back and in midfield, although one appearance also came at right-back.
The youngster was highlighted by assistant manager Pep Lijnders as a player he would like to see on the pre-season tour and it seems the Dutchman has got his wish. He said in January: "This is just my personal opinion, but I think a coach should be judged much more on the young players he brings through.
"I really believe in our project looking at our academy. For example, I spent yesterday morning at the Academy to speak with the coaches and Alex Inglethorpe.
"We look all the time at the Academy. (On Tuesday) our U18s played against Burnley in the FA Youth Cup, we had Bobby Clark, Luke Chambers, Stefan Bajcetic, they all stand out.
"I hope they come with us during the pre-season because it is important for them to have a proper pre-season to know exactly how we want to do things."
Liverpool secured the signing of Bajcetic for €250,000 (£224,000) having scouted him since 2019. It was a deal the club were eager to get over the line given rivals Manchester United were also reportedly keen on the youngster, but the Reds 'worked hard' to convince him a switch to Merseyside was the right decision.
The Reds were forced to move quickly to secure the versatile youngster as they needed to conclude the deal before the United Kingdom left the European Union on January 1 last year. Under the new post-Brexit transfer rules, clubs cannot sign overseas players under the age of 18, so the move for Bajectic was hurriedly completed before the turn of 2021.
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