Barcelona launch unexpected late bid to sign Liverpool teenager as Fabrizio Romano confirms offer made

With just two days remaining of the transfer window, Barcelona are pushing to sign a defensive midfielder after Marc Bernal suffered a season-ending injury.

Bernal, 17, ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the final stages of Tuesday night's 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano and will undergo surgery in the coming days.

Hansi Flick opened up on Bernal's injury in his post-match press conference. "It's a sad victory because Marc Bernal is injured," he said.

"We win, it's OK, but when you see the dressing room nobody is happy. It's not good. He made a fantastic match -- 17-years-old, such a performance. It hurts."

Barca will need to act quickly if they want to replace the teenager, who has made an impressive start to his career at the Catalan club.

Flick is looking at Frenkie de Jong and Marc Casado to step up in Bernal's absence, according to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, but they are also trying to see if they can bring in a defensive midfielder on loan.

On Wednesday, it emerged that Barcelona have submitted a straight loan proposal to Liverpool for 19-year-old Stefan Bajcetic.

A loan bid of €4 million [£3.3m] has been submitted, says Fabrizio Romano, who also claims there is no buy clause included in the offer.

Bajcetic has also been subject of interest from RB Salzburg, with the Austrian side submitting their own loan bid on Tuesday.

Salzburg recently signed midfielder Bobby Clark from Liverpool for a fee thought to be around £10 million.

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Bajcetic was held in high regard by former manager Jurgen Klopp. After being handed his Liverpool debut in August 2022, the teenager went on to make 19 appearances during the 2022/23 campaign.

But after missing the majority of last season through injury, he has been left out of Arne Slot's squad for their opening two Premier League games against Ipswich Town and Brentford.

Back in January 2023, Bajcetic penned a four-year deal at Anfield, just five days after making his first Premier League start.