Stefan Bajcetic reveals Liverpool transfer option and how 'messy' move came about

Stefan Bajcetic has revealed that he has the option to extend his loan move to Red Bull Salzburg - and that Liverpool remain in constant contact with their on-loan midfielder. The 20-year-old joined the Austrian outfit at the end of August and has made 11 appearances for them to date.

Such game time is much-needed for the Spain Under-21s international, having spent over a year sidelined through injury after an eye-catching breakthrough campaign at Anfield in 2022/23.

Arne Slot sanctioned Bajcetic’s temporary departure in order for the midfielder to obtain regular starting football - with it an added bonus that he is working under the watchful eye of former Reds assistant manager Pep Lijnders.

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Admittedly Salzburg’s current campaign has not been plain sailing so far, with the Austrian outfit currently fourth in the Bundesliga - 11 points behind league-leaders Sturm Graz - and having lost three of their four Champions League league matches to date.

But having joined Salzburg despite rival interest from Barcelona, Bajcetic is very much enjoying being back out on the pitch, with Liverpool keeping in close-contact with the loanee to help ensure he doesn't succumb to further injury.

“Finding the minutes I was missing. After such a long injury I need to play,” he told Marca. “I made the decision to go to Salzburg because I thought I would get minutes and I am getting them.

“They (Liverpool) are in contact with me practically every week asking me how I am and physically giving me gym guidelines so I don't relapse.”

Bajcetic is currently away with Spain Under-21s after being handed an international recall and has one eye on next summer’s European Championship in Slovakia as a result.

However, he faces a possible dilemma. Salzburg will compete in next summer’s FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, taking place between June 15 and July 13, and he does have the option to extend his loan deal to compete in the inaugural edition of the revamped tournament.

“Being on loan in Salzburg and since Liverpool are not going to the World Cup, I have the option of choosing whether to return to Liverpool or do the World Cup with Salzburg,” he explained.

“If I return to Liverpool, I have an option to come to the European Championship and it is something that would make me very excited.

“I missed the last (Olympic) Games and European Championships due to injury. I have never been to a championship like this with the national team, I am looking forward to it.”

Bajcetic has had to be patient after suffering an adductor injury back in March 2023, with the aforementioned international tournaments not the only experiences he has missed out on.

Initially tipped to return in time for pre-season, his comeback was delayed until September 2023. And after making two appearances against LASK Linz and Leicester City, a recurrence ruled him out for the majority of the campaign, with a substitute appearance against Tottenham Hotspur in May proving to be his only other first team outing.

The midfielder feels he coped well with the initial setback, but admits he found it tougher once sidelined once again.

“We were just playing at the Bernabeu and that week I got injured,” he recalled. “The first time I thought, it’s normal. I have played many games after a long time, many in a row, it can happen. It was long but I handled it quite well.

“Then I recovered and as soon as I recovered, I had the same injury that was another five or six months and that was already harder.

“My girlfriend was the closest because she was living with me there. There were days when I came back from training and I didn't feel like being at home and she was the one who made me happy. My family too. My friends are always there.

“I approached it as an opportunity to improve in other aspects. I got my driving licence, became even more independent and tried to learn new things.

“More work in the gym and you value much more, when you return, each workout, the importance of work in the gym and prevention. It’s hard, but in the end it all works out.”

While Bajcetic is now finding his way back after the longest of 18 months, such struggles came in stark contrast to both his quick-fire switch to Liverpool from Celta Vigo in December 2020 and his accelerated pathway into the first team just 18 months later.

“He had been testing me for a while, but he didn’t tell me anything,” he said of his father, former Celta Vigo midfielder Srdan Bajcetic, when recalling his move to Liverpool. “One day before class I saw in a newspaper that I was going to England.

“I knew something but not much, it was more rumours. Then I got to class and everyone knew that I had signed for Liverpool, it was a mess.

“It was done very quickly because of Brexit. I’m talking about December and in January you could no longer sign a player under 18 years of age from the European Union because the United Kingdom were leaving it. It had to be done very quickly, and, in a week, I was already travelling.”

He continued: “I was at Celta all my life, seven or eight years. When I was 16 I made the decision to go to Liverpool.

“I thought it was the right decision because if it went well I was very good and if it went badly, I would become independent, learn English and the experience of going to another country and putting myself in a difficult situation would help me.

“Fortunately it went well and I had the opportunity that Klopp gave me to play in the first team and I took it. Then I had the bad luck of getting injured.

“It was very quick. I spent a year there with the under-18 team, which was the one I was assigned to, and the following year I went to pre-season with the first team. There are a lot of us who go, they usually take youngsters to pre-season to give them experience.

“I did well and when I came back I stayed training with them. It coincided with a match against Bournemouth that we were winning by five or six. Klopp put me in, I made my debut and I started getting minutes.

“The team was going through a bad time, they gave us opportunities and I took advantage of them.”

Now taking advantage of opportunities at Red Bull Salzburg, both Bajcetic and Liverpool will hope he can push on to do the same when back at Anfield next year. But when exactly that Reds return might be, with the FIFA Club World Cup and Under-21s European Championships both on the horizon next summer, only time will tell.