The Stefan Bajčetić Talk

I know you love him, but.

So I’ve received a few direct messages about Stefan Bajčetić this week. People clearly still care about the guy who broke his back to save Liverpool’s season once. No, really. He later suffered back problems.

Indeed, those issues forced him to miss the entirety of the following campaign. He was unable to build upon his initial impact as a teenager at Anfield, which explains why he’s now on loan.

Bajčetić needs minutes. Especially if he wishes to impress Arne Slot. He got some in Austria under Pep Lijnders before Christmas, but a change of manager in Salzburg resulted in the Spaniard moving to Las Palmas. He’s been there since the turn of the year.

Bajčetić is doing reasonably well in La Liga. But what people really want to know is whether he’ll ever make it on Merseyside. The belief is that he’s good enough among supporters, but I’ll be honest, I’m not sure.

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The bar feels higher at Liverpool now than it was under Jürgen Klopp, who favoured a relatively imperfect playing style. If you had enough heart, determination and — perhaps most importantly of all — physicality, you could do a job for the German.

Liverpool with Slot have proved to be slightly different so far. Sure, the Dutchman has just won the Premier League in his debut campaign at the helm, but can you think of a single youngster that he’s integrated? Me neither.

If anything, every promising starlet at the club has kinda taken a step backwards. Think about it. He’s raised the bar, and players are finding it harder to jump.

Slot has been all business, with Richard Hughes likely to adopt a comparably cold approach in the transfer market by essentially treating players like stocks. Klopp wanted to give the human being a chance. But he’s not around anymore.

Harvey Elliott is a perfect example. He’s played just 199 minutes in the Premier League this term. Ben Doak was loaned to Middlesbrough and now seems to be for sale. Conor Bradley is good, but he’s only really been presented with opportunities when Trent Alexander-Arnold has been on the treatment table.

Bajčetić was a bit of blue sky for supporters when Liverpool experienced a dull campaign three years ago. He was the silver lining. But that isn’t going to count for anything moving forward.

If you’re not good enough, you’re out. Any degree of compassion left with Jürgen.

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Bajčetić is exploring the pitch in La Liga right now. It’s interesting. He’s played some minutes as a wide centre-back in a back-three system, but for the most part, Las Palmas have favoured 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 this year.

Both of those structures require Bajčetić to operate as part of a double pivot, which he’s been doing as a starter of late despite the noise surrounding his future as a centre-back.

For me, that isn’t going to happen. Certainly not at Liverpool. And this is the thing. Bajčetić clearly has something about him, but nobody seems to know how to profile him. Deciding where to play him is complicated. He’s a tactical puzzle. And no, his future isn’t at right-back, either.

Indeed, he thrived as a number eight in a midfield three when he first emerged under Klopp. That spell in the team seems to have worked wonders for his reputation and his potential as a more advanced midfielder in the eyes of some.

Again, not for me. There’s lots to unpick here, but the role that Bajčetić occupied back then effectively belonged to Thiago Alcântara. Liverpool’s midfield trio was almost asymmetrical. Thiago played as an eight but regularly dropped to sit with Fabinho, whereas Jordan Henderson advanced on the other side, penetrating the penalty box.