Liverpool Midfield Changes: Bajcetic Returns to Celta Vigo
Liverpool’s summer surgery in midfield has taken another sharp turn. Another body is going out. None are coming in.
While the noise around Anfield has centred on wide forwards, the real churn is happening in the middle of the pitch. Curtis Jones has already gone, swapped Merseyside for Milan in a £30m move to Inter. Now Stefan Bajcetic is following him out of the door – but in a very different kind of deal.
Bajcetic returns to Celta Vigo
Liverpool have agreed to sell Bajcetic back to his former club Celta Vigo, with Spanish journalist Matteo Moretto reporting that a club-to-club agreement is in place.
Speaking on DAZN_ES, translated by AnfieldSector, Moretto outlined the structure: it’s a permanent transfer, Liverpool keep a percentage of any future sale, and Celta pay virtually nothing up front. The package is built on bonuses and that sell-on clause. Bajcetic is expected to undergo his medical with Celta Vigo soon.
For a player once tipped as a long-term holding midfielder at Anfield, the exit underlines how brutal his spell in England has been. The 21-year-old has been hit by persistent injuries and, across the last four years, has managed fewer than 60 appearances. With his contract running into its final year, Liverpool were never in a position to demand a major fee.
So they’ve gambled on the future instead. If Bajcetic can stay fit and rebuild his career in Galicia, that sell-on clause might yet look shrewd.
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has backed up the direction of travel from the player’s side, stating that Celta Vigo are closing in on an agreement over personal terms for Bajcetic to join from Liverpool.
A thinning midfield – by design
Strip Bajcetic and Jones out of the equation and Liverpool’s central options look lighter, if not yet bare.
Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Trey Nyoni, Wataru Endo and Bajcetic had been the six recognised midfielders. With Bajcetic leaving and Jones already gone, the group is shrinking, and the defensive balance shifts with it.
Only Endo and Bajcetic were natural defensive midfielders. Endo sits low in the pecking order. Bajcetic is on his way. On paper, it screams for a replacement.
Liverpool disagree.
Nyoni promoted, transfer door stays shut
TEAMtalk revealed earlier this week that Liverpool have made their internal call: Trey Nyoni is being promoted to fourth choice in the midfield hierarchy.
The shape is clear. Szoboszlai, Gravenberch and Mac Allister will scrap for the two starting roles. Behind them, Nyoni is viewed as the next man up, with Endo fifth in line.
The Athletic have since reinforced that picture. Their Liverpool reporter James Pearce wrote that, despite growing calls from supporters for another midfielder – calls that grew louder after the dramatic 2-2 draw with Newcastle – senior club sources insist the priority remains out wide, not in the middle.
“They don’t intend to replace Jones, as they see teenager Trey Nyoni as ready to step up and play a bigger part this season,” Pearce reported. Unless something changes, only the forward line will be strengthened.
So the message from inside Anfield is blunt. Bajcetic goes. Jones has gone. Nyoni steps up. The recruitment team turns its gaze back to the flanks.
Liverpool are betting that a teenager and a reshuffled hierarchy can carry the weight of a long season in one of the most demanding midfields in Europe. The risk is obvious. The club’s conviction is, too.
