Arne Slot explains Liverpool plan for Stefan Bajcetic after loan move confirmed

Arne Slot explains the plan for Stefan Bajcetic after his surprise loan move to Red Bull Salzburg was completed

Arne Slot is adamant Stefan Bajcetic's long-term future remains with Liverpool but highlighted the importance of sending the teenager out on loan after his short-term move to Red Bull Salzburg was confirmed on transfer deadline day.

Bajcetic had offers from at least five teams from Spain, including former club Celta Vigo and Barcelona, who reportedly offered over £3m to take him for the year, but it is Salzburg who won the race for the young midfielder, with the player now set to reunite with Pep Lijnders, whose influence was vital to fast-tracking the 19-year-old into the Liverpool first team during their time together at Anfield.

Bajcetic flew to Austria to complete a medical on Thursday and becomes the second agreement between the two clubs this summer after Lijnders pushed to sign Bobby Clark from the Reds in a permanent deal worth £10m.

The loan for Bajcetic does not include an obligation to make the switch permanent and Slot insists the youngster can still become a top player at Liverpool, but he explained how vital it is to his long-term aspirations that he begins to play regularly after the best part of 18 months dealing with injury issues.

“I hope it will be a big year for him because he’s a very talented player because he’s been out for 15 months and I think he could become a very important player for us, only if he gets playing time now," Slot said.

“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 the best for him to play at the moment, instead of maybe play a few times and then be on the bench for a long time again. It’s very difficult to keep a player fit who’s been out for 15 months to only play him once in a while."

Bajcetic made 19 first-team appearances under Jurgen Klopp across the 22/23 term but saw his campaign end prematurely after an injury picked up in a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth in March 2023. He played just three times last season, totalling 97 minutes, and his last start came in a Europa League victory over LASK 11 months ago.

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