Soccer can often be about sliding doors moments. Arne Slot, for example, rejected Spurs a year before he ended up at Liverpool; had his conversation with Daniel Levy gone a different way, the Dutchman would certainly not be in the home dugout at Anfield tomorrow.

Likewise, when Slot arrived and identified a No. 6 as being a priority in the transfer market, going after Martin Zubimendi, the expectation was the the Spaniard would end up on Merseyside. Instead, he could sign for Arsenal next summer with Ryan Gravenberch having produced a level of performance that Zubimendi might never have reached.

Even if Zubimendi is no longer a target for Liverpool and Gravenberch has the first-choice spot nailed down, there remains a strong argument for recruiting another midfielder who can cover for him in the summer. Wataru Endo is there, of course, but he is a very different style of player — much more combative and far less elegant on the ball.

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Liverpool does have someone who could play the back-up role to Gravenberch next season, though, on a couple of conditions. In Stefan Bajcetic, there remains a huge talent that could be unlocked — as long as he plays regularly in the next few months and can prove his fitness.

Heading to Red Bull Salzburg under Pep Lijnders in the first part of the season, Bajcetic didn't play as often as he might have expected. He made 20 appearances — 12 of them as a substitute — but missed games through injury, illness, and just not being selected. While he is still being eased back in after a long-term injury, it was telling that the loan was cut short.

Lijnders was fired by Salzburg in December and then in January, Bajcetic moved to Spain to play for Las Palmas. There, the hope is that he can be more involved.

"Las Palmas is a team that plays good football and gives opportunities to players who come on loan," Bajcetic said during his unveiling. "I hope there will be some for me too. Considering things, it was the best option for me, I want to grow as a footballer. I think I can improve here."

If he can play regularly between now and the end of the campaign, the 20-year-old remains a huge talent. And with Bajcetic's skillset, he would be ideal for the deepest midfield role that Slot deploys.

If he can get back to peak fitness and sharpness, Liverpool has already seen how good he can be during the 2022/23 season when he burst onto the scene. That, though, was a long time ago. If he is to return to Merseyside in the summer, the intervening period needs to go well. From there, it is possible there might be a place on the Liverpool roster available for him to pin down.