Liverpool midfielder 'in process of closing' move to La Liga as three clubs hover to complete January deal

Stefan Bajcetic is 'in negotiations' to complete a move to Spain, one report has claimed.

The Liverpool midfielder is currently on a season-long loan at Red Bull Salzburg. However, Bajectic has not been a regular starter for the Austrian side, who sacked ex-Reds assistant manager Pep Lijnders as head coach last month.

The 20-year-old has played a total of 19 times for Salzburg. However, only eight of those outings have been from the outset and he was left on the bench for a 5-1 loss against Real Madrid in the Champions League last week. He also did not start mid-season friendles Bayern Munich or FC Midtjylland after Austria's winter break.

It was suggested earlier this month that Bajcetic could make the switch to Spanish side Real Betis. Now Atlantico Hoy suggests that the youngster could move to the to Canary Islands and join Las Palmas. It is reported that the Gran Canaria-based outfit, who are 15th in La Liga, are 'in the process of closing the loan'. Celta Vigo, Bajcetic's boyhood club who he left to join Liverpool in December 2020, have also been credited with an interest along with Betis.

However, the report it at odds with The Athletic's recent suggestion that Liverpool have been pleased with the number of minutes Bajcetic has played for Salzburg and see his loan as 'very positive so far'.

Bajcetic enjoyed a fine breakthrough 2022-23 campaign at Liverpool where he made 19 appearances, scoring one goal. However, an injury suffered in March 2023 forced him to have surgery while he missed the majority of last season because of fitness issues. That prompted the Reds to loan out the Spain under-21 international go get regular senior minutes under his belt at Salzburg.

After completing his temporary exit in August, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot insisted that Bajcetic has the potential to become a ‘very important player’ at Anfield in the future. 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.

“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.”