Liverpool are poised to cut Stefan Bajcetic's loan at Red Bull Salzburg short this month in order to send the midfielder elsewhere.
Bajcetic, 22, won rave reviews during the 2022-23 campaign when he broke into Jurgen Klopp's first-team plans. But after making just three appearances under Klopp last term, the Spain Under-21 star was made available for loan in the summer.
The Reds would go on to give Bajcetic the green light to link up with Klopp's former assistant, Pep Lijnders, in Austria. He was sacked last month, though, and Bajcetic looks likely to follow him out of Salzburg in the coming days.
It's been reported that he will spend the second half of the season on loan in La Liga with Real Betis, who are in advanced talks over a six month deal.
Competition for midfield places has grown significantly over the past 12 months at Anfield with Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister all impressing since joining the club back in the summer transfer window last year.
But Bajcetic's impact did not go unnoticed when he stepped up amid a crippling injury crisis in the campaign prior. He was even pinpointed as Liverpool's 'best player' of the season at one point by Mohamed Salah, speaking after a win over Everton in 2023.
“He's a great player and person, he always tries to work hard. Since he started playing for us, he has been our best player maybe, so hopefully he keeps that confidence and keeps going,” Salah said.
And while Arne Slot decided against keeping Bajcetic around this season, he has made no secret of how highly he rates the talented youngster.
Speaking earlier this season, the Dutchman said: “I hope it will be a big year for [Bajcetic] 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. Then for next season, we’ll have a player. If he fulfils his potential, [he] could definitely, definitely play for us in the future.”