Mo Salah Heaps Praise On 18-Year-Old Stefan Bajcetic: 'He's Our Best Player Right Now'

Liverpool FC forward Mohamed Salah has heaped praise on young Stefan Bajcetic, saying the teenager is their "best player" right now.

Salah's comments came after Bajcetic earned the Man of the Match award as Liverpool defeated Everton 2-0 on Sunday in the Premier League, which also marked the Reds' first win of the year.

Bajcetic, who made his senior debut with Liverpool earlier this season, started on the left flank of the midline, with Jordan Henderson on the extreme right and Fabinho in the middle.

In what has been a few tough months for Liverpool, Bajcetic has been a small light of hope for the former champions and Salah acknowledged it by complimenting the teenage defensive midfielder.

"He's a great player, he's a great person. He always tries to work hard and since he started playing with us, he's our best player maybe. Hopefully he stays with that confidence and just keeps going," Salah told reporters after Liverpool's win over Everton.

Bajcetic, who was standing next to Salah, was evidently stunned and reciprocated it with a compliment for the Egyptian King: "To hear that from a Liverpool legend, it's amazing to hear."

While Salah scored his first goal of 2023 on Sunday, Liverpool's newest signing Cody Gakpo scored his maiden goal for the Merseyside club.

Bajcetic, who started his youth soccer career with Celta Vigo, joined Liverpool in 2020. He made his first-team debut in Liverpool's 9-0 win over Bournemouth after coming off the bench. Bajcetic then went on to become the youngest-ever player to debut in the Champions League for the Reds. He has since made it to the first team regularly amid the team's crisis owning to injuries and poor form.

Having signed a long-term deal with Liverpool at the beginning of the year, the midfielder has started each of their last three Premier League matches. In 13 matches this season, Bajcetic has also netted a goal, which came in the Reds' 3-1 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park last December.

Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp also showered praise on Bajcetic, saying the 18-year-old midfielder did "extremely well."

"He did pretty good, and we put him in a new position; you have to ask him actually, I don't think he ever played the position before. He came here as a kid as a centre-half, played now the six for us in a few games and tonight as an eight and in a lot of moments a double-six, did extremely well. It was quite a good performance, to be honest," Klopp said.

Liverpool's next game is an away league fixture against Newcastle United on Saturday. They will have a big game in the Champions League against Real Madrid on Feb. 21.