Stefan Bajcetic's start at Salzburg is not living up to the hype. The Liverpool loanee, who was close to joining Barcelona in the summer, has had a disappointing start to life at the Austrian club.

His performances have not been up to standard and he has even been fined by the Red Bull side for arriving late for a Champions League match.

The young player was rumoured to be a possible late signing for Barcelona following Marc Bernal's injury, but the deal between Salzburg and Liverpool was well-advanced and Bajcetic ended up leaving for the Red Bull Arena outfit.

Bajcetic has so far played five games, three in the Austrian Bundesliga and two in the Champions League. In Europe's top club competition, Salzburg sit in a disappointing penultimate position in the new single table after losing both matches.

The young midfielder started one and came on as a substitute in the other, contributing virtually nothing. In the week leading up to the Brest clash, he arrived late for a Salzburg training session, for which the Austrian club decided to fine him.

According to reports in England, Salzburg's match officials have given him very low marks this season and Bajcetic was particularly poor against Sturm Graz in a 5-0 defeat for his club. He also started against WSG Tyrol (0-0) and Austria Vienna (2-0 win).

Current manager Pepijn Lijnders knows Bajcetic well from his time at Liverpool. The Dutchman is now in his first international experience in charge of a club after being assistant to Jurgen Klopp at the Reds. He will soon have the German coach, who on Wednesday became Global Head of Football for the Red Bull brand, as his boss.

S. Bajčetić

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