The cliché is that a change of management offers every player a clean slate and a fresh start, that certainly appears to be true as Andoni Iraola gets to work at Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konaté have all departed, while Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Hugo Ekitké currently injured. With a further eight players not yet back at AXA Training Centre following World Cup involvement, Iraola has a very small senior squad with which to work to start with.
In his introductory press conference, the Spaniard acknowledged as much, stating that "the first part of pre-season, it's going to be with a lot of players from the academy", which will give these youngsters an opportunity to stake a claim. Well, could Stefan Bajčetić be one of those most primed to do so, or could he in fact leave the club?
Well, as reported by Matteo Moretto of Marca, "several teams in Spain want him", including Rayo Vallecano and Getafe. However, he adds that "Iraola likes him a lot", noting that the new Liverpool head coach "wants to keep him for now [and] see him during pre-season". Moretto asserts that if the club decide to keep Bajčetić, "he'll renew his contract with Liverpool", otherwise his preference is a move back to Spain. So, where will his future lie?
Does Stefan Bajčetić have a future at Liverpool?
It has been many years since most Liverpool fans thought about Bajčetić. He last put on a red shirt all the way back on 5 May 2024, coming on for the final 25 minutes of a 4-2 victory over Tottenham at Anfield. More recently, the 21 year old's development has been massively derailed by injuries.
Stefan Bajčetić's season statistics
Season | Club (s) | Appearances | Total minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
2025/26 | Liverpool | Zero | Zero |
2024/25 | RB Salzburg and Las Palmas | 33 | 1,870 |
2023/24 | Liverpool | 3 | 97 |
2022/23 | Liverpool | 19 | 931 |
2021/22 | Liverpool youth | 22 | 1,788 |
Note: All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.
Bajčetić did not play a single minute last season due to hamstring surgery, before then suffering a major set back during his recovery. Thus, the last time the defensive midfielder featured in any match was for Las Palmas against Sevilla in May 2025, a whopping 428 days ago.
That season though, he did accumulate almost 2,000 minutes across two loan spells, featuring regularly for RB Salzburg in the Champions League, before appearing in 14 of Las Palmas' 15 La Liga fixtures prior to this injury sustained at Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. So, he is far from incapable of playing regularly and staying fit, but is recovering from a very severe injury.
Back in May, James Pearce of the Athletic noted that the pre-season priority is to ensure Bajčetić is back fit, with a loan most likely, albeit it is not inconceivable that he will force his way into the manager's plans. So, what should Iraola do? Well, with only 12 months remaining on the 21 year old's deal, a decision needs to be made, and it seems sensible to offer the defensive midfielder a new contract, thereby giving him time to prove his worth.
Spanish clubs the size of Getafe and Rayo Vallecano, the duo reportedly interested, are unable to pay sizable transfer fees for players. Their respective record signings around €10 million. So, it would appear short-sighted of Liverpool to cash in on Bajčetić for a pretty negligible fee at this stage, when he is clearly a talented player who just needs to get fit again.
Given the options of the current squad, expect Bajčetić to feature prominently in pre-season, especially for the early fixtures in the U.S. against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds.
Thereafter, if Iraola gets everything he wants in the transfer market, there may prove to be no room for the 21 year old in the squad, but a loan would be the best option, rather than selling a promising youngster when is value is at its lowest.
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