Stefan Bajcetic, left, in Liverpool training with Darwin Nunez. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Stefan Bajcetic, left, in Liverpool training with Darwin Nunez. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Stefan Bajcetic, left, in Liverpool training with Darwin Nunez. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool are set to run the rule over Stefan Bajcetic during the pre-season period.
Plans are already afoot for Liverpool’s Premier League title defence.
Arne Slot is enjoying some downtime in Ibiza, while the rest of the squad are relaxing in Dubai . Liverpool are using the luxury of already being crowned English champions to revitalise. They know that a big summer is ahead.
There is already movement ongoing in terms of transfers, with Jeremie Frimpong a potential replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold. There will be other additions arriving in the transfer window.
Slot will want to maximise the pre-season period. With no international tournaments, he will have his entire squad available from the day that Liverpool return from their break to ensure they are in prime condition for the first game of the 2025-26 campaign. The hard work will begin in early July as Liverpool plot how to win back-to-back league titles improving how they aim to clinch a seventh Champions League.
It will be intriguing to see where some of the younger players at Liverpool feature in Slot’s plans. Stefan Bajcetic will be hoping he can thrust his way back into the first-team picture. The midfielder memorably burst onto the scene in the 2022-23 season when he was just 18. When the Reds were struggling, the emergence of the Spain under-21 international was a beacon of light. He made a total of 19 appearances and was handed a start in a 5-2 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16. During his time in the starting XI, he earned praise from then-manager Jurgen Klopp, Mo Salah and former captain Jordan Henderson.
However, Bajcetic could not play in the return clash at the Santiago Bernabeu after undergoing being forced to undergo an operation. The setback sidelined him for the best part of a year. Bajcetic made only three appearances last term as he struggled for fitness.
Last summer, he was sent to Red Bull Salzburg on loan where he reunited with Klopp’s long-time assistant Pep Lijnders. But after Lijnders was sacked just six months into his tenure and Bajcetic left the Austrian side to move to Las Palmas for the second half of the campaign.
The 20-year-old has been a regular starter at the Gran Canaria-based side in their battle for La Liga survival. He has caught the eye for Las Palmas, with the highlight helping them to a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid. Certainly, Liverpool will have been keeping a close eye on his progress.
However, in Monday night’s 1-0 defeat by Sevilla, which leaves Las Palmas cut three points adrift of safety with two games remaining, Bajcetic was forced off with an injury. Making his 14th appearance, he was withdrawn in the 50th minute.
Certainly, Bajcetic and Liverpool will be hoping that it is nothing serious. The former Celta Vigo man could have a chance to thrust his way into Slot’s plans in pre-season where he will be given an opportunity. There have been sections of supporters who want Liverpool to bolster their midfield options.
Ryan Gravenberch has served as undisputed first choice in the number-six role, with Alexis Mac Allister showing tactical astuteness in the other holding role, while Curtis Jones has played there and the No.10 position.
However, Wataru Endo has made just one Premier League start, which was at Chelsea the week after the title was won. Slot has preferred ball-playing options in the engine room rather than enforcers, with Endo’s chief impacts coming from the bench.
Slot on Bajcetic
Speaking after joining Salzburg, Slot insisted that Bajcetic has the ability to be part of Liverpool’s plans in the future. The Anfield boss said: “I hope it will be a big year for him because he’s a very talented player and I think he could become a very important player for us, but only if he gets playing time now.
“If you are that young and you’ve been out for so long, the only thing you need is playing time. He could have playing time over here, but we’ve got six or seven very good midfielders, so his playing time here will always be more limited than we expect him to play at Salzburg.
“So for him, and us, we think it’s best for him to play at the moment, instead of maybe playing a few times and then being on the bench for a long time again. It’s very difficult to keep a player fit who’s been out for 15 months when you only play him once in a while.
“So this is for the long term. Again, this club has been smart, in my opinion, in the past for not only looking for the short term, but also the long term. It’s a smart decision, at least in our opinion, to let him go somewhere, where he will hopefully play a lot of games. Then for next season, we’ll have a player. If he fulfils his potential, [he] could definitely, definitely play for us in the future.”
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