One Liverpool loanee is beginning the New Year with much uncertainty surrounding his immediate future.
In the final hours of the summer 2024 transfer window, Stefan Bajcetic left Anfield to team up with former Reds assistant manager Pep Lijnders at Red Bull Salzburg, although the latter has since been sacked by the Austrian outfit.
There’s been an abundance of rumours surrounding the young midfielder in recent days, some of which appear rather contradictory.
On Saturday, transfer insider Graeme Bailey reported (via RTK) that Liverpool are considering recalling the 20-year-old from his loan spell amid his apparent unhappiness in Salzburg, having removed all references to the club from his Instagram profile.
Later that day, Fabrizio Romano posted on X that Real Betis are in ‘advanced talks’ to take Bajcetic on loan, with the Reds set to break the Spaniard’s existing agreement in Austria.
On Monday afternoon, the Daily Mail‘s Simon Jones claimed that, although the youngster has ’emerged as an option’ for the LaLiga club, LFC’s ‘current plan’ is for him to remain at Salzburg.
Come back to Liverpool, stay at Salzburg or go to Real Betis – just what does Bajcetic do this month?
Lijnders’ sacking amid the Austrian club’s dreadful season so far wasn’t part of the plan when the 20-year-old joined them on loan at the end of August, and even with a familiar face in the dugout, he’s been in and out of the starting line-up for a team floundering domestically and tanking in the Champions League.
That inconsistent game-time doesn’t suggest that he’d have much hope of featuring much for Arne Slot’s Reds, with the Spaniard likely to be a backup option at best if he were to return to his parent club in January.
Maybe a change of scenery would be ideal for him this month, and at Betis he’d have exposure to one of Europe’s top leagues and be involved with a team chasing European football, which seems like the ideal challenge for him.
As with any loan move, the crucial consideration for Liverpool is how likely the player is to enjoy regular minutes.
If Bajcetic could get that with the Andalucian outfit, we’d be all for him going to southern Spain in the coming weeks. If it seems doubtful that he’d feature much for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, interrupting his stint at Salzburg would make little sense.
The Merseyside club have a decision to make regarding the talented midfielder, who could do with some stability after a chaotic couple of years with injuries and abortive loan moves.
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