Stefan Bajčetić has been one of Liverpool’s more promising teenagers in recent seasons.

For this season, though, the Spaniard has been loaned out, ostensibly deemed not yet ready by manager Arne Slot. However, the Dutchman already rates the midfielder very highly if his recent words are to be believed.

Arne Slot says Stefan Bajčetić can be “very important player” for Liverpool after sealing Salzburg loan

As quoted by Paul Joyce of The Times, Liverpool manager Arne Slot had nothing but praise for midfielder Stefan Bajčetić in a recent interview, with the Spaniard having recently completed a season-long loan move to Red Bull Salzburg of the Austrian Bundesliga.

“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, 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, could definitely, definitely play for us in the future.”

Bajčetić has with Liverpool a £40k-per-week contract set to run until June 2027. Valued by Trasfermarkt at €11 million, the 19-year-old has made 22 senior appearances for the Reds thus far, which have included some very impressive performances in big games.

Bajčetić has the right ingredients

We have to believe Slot’s words here. Bajčetić is a deep-midfield operator who is not only defensively sound but also good on the ball—which we now know is exactly what Slot wants in his #6s.

We can only assume that Bajčetić was deemed too raw during the pre-season to warrant regular playing minutes for Liverpool and has thus been loaned out to a club where he will get exactly that, while also getting to play in the expanded Champions League this season.

If this move works out, Slot may very well not need to find a long-term #6 solution from outside the club come next season.

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