Liverpool Midfielder Stefan Bajcetic Set To Join Las Palmas After Agreeing To Terminate RB Salzburg Loan

Stefan Bajcetic joined Red Bull Salzburg until after the Club World Cup in June with no January recall clause in the initial deal agreed last summer
IMAGO / GEPA pictures

Liverpool midfielder Stefan Bajcetic is set to return to his homeland after his loan spell with Red Bull Salzburg was terminated. The 20-year-old joined Salzburg until after the Club World Cup in June with no January recall clause in the initial deal agreed last summer.

READ MORE: Arne Slot Rules Out Loan Move For Liverpool Midfielder James McConnell In January Transfer Window

Stefan BAJCETIC (RBS), Artem STEPANOV (LEV) Aktion, Zweikampf, Fussball Champions League
Stefan BAJCETIC (RBS), Artem STEPANOV (LEV) Aktion, Zweikampf, Fussball Champions League, 5. Spieltag, Bayer 04 Leverkusen (LEV) - RB Salzburg / IMAGO / Sven Simon

He racked up 19 appearances, making just eight starts for the Austrian giants with his most recent outing being a cameo from the bench in Wednesday night’s 4-1 loss to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

Bajcetic, who was lured by former Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders to join the club in the summer has endured a torrid time in Austria. Lijnders was sacked by Salzburg last month and the defensive midfielder has been keen to move on.

Before his move to Salzburg, Arne Slot explained his hopes for Bajcetic’s loan spell. Slot 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.

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“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.

Stefan Bajcetic
IMAGO / GEPA pictures

“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.”

READ MORE: Arne Slot Confirms Liverpool Summer Plans After Quiet First Two Transfer Windows

Bajcetic was sidelined for the majority of last season due to injury.

Stefan Bajcetic
IMAGO / GEPA pictures

Reports emerged that he would be recalled by Liverpool in the January transfer window, however, according to The Athletic, Bajcetic is set to join Las Palmas for the rest of the season. The report claims that he snubbed FC Porto to join the Spanish side.

Bajcetic was down the pecking order following the appointment of new boss Thomas Letsch. It is believed that there was also interest from Getafe. He is expected to complete his transfer by the weekend.

Las Palmas are 15th in La Liga and Bajcetic will be hoping for more game time as he looks to force his way into Arne Slot’s plans when he returns to Merseyside for pre-season.

READ MORE: Liverpool Transfer Window Update: Arne Slot Ready To Make A Move In The Window If The Opportunity Presents Itself


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Joseph Agbobli
JOSEPH AGBOBLI

LFC Transfer Room Football Correspondent. Covered the fortunes of Liverpool for the past three years. Follow Joseph on X (formerly Twitter) @joseph_agbobli