Liverpool prospect Stefan Bajcetic is impressing out on loan at Las Palmas, with the 20-year-old midfielder being compared to former Barcelona lynchpin Sergio Busquets
Liverpool could have the next Sergio Busquets on their hands, with 20-year-old prospect Stefan Bajcetic earning comparisons to the Barcelona legend during his loan spell at Las Palmas. Bajcetic only joined Las Palmas in the January transfer window after a disappointing stint at Red Bull Salzburg, but the midfielder has impressed in his seven LaLiga appearances so far.
Bajcetic broke into Liverpool’s first-team as a teenager in 2022, but several serious injury problems derailed his progress and a loan move to Salzburg was meant to rejuvenate his career.
However, he managed just one full 90 minutes at Salzburg and the loan came to a premature end, allowing him to join Las Palmas. And since returning to Spain, Bajcetic has thrived with only a small number of players having made more tackles, blocks, interceptions or aerial wins than him per 90 minutes in LaLiga.
As a result, Bajcetic has been likened to three-time Champions League winner Busquets. “He reminds me of Sergio Busquets, because of how he drives the ball and how he moves around the field,” Spanish journalist Manuel Garcia told the Daily Mail.
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It is not the first time Bajcetic has been compared to Busquets, with former Celta Vigo academy director Alex Otero telling the Liverpool Echo back in 2023: “He reminds me of Sergio Busquets, the best Busquets of many years ago.
“He would only play in the midfield and the other players attacked, but Stefan has other qualities different to Busquets; he likes to advance into the opposition box and support attacks. Stefan can play No.8, not just No.6.
“I say Busquets because he was one of the best midfielders in the national team with Spain, but Stefan has a different future to Busquets. At the top level, I’m sure. For me, Stefan is a player that is better suited to the Premier League than La Liga.
“In Spain, it’s very slow but the Premier League is very fast-paced, end-to-end and with a higher intensity that suits Stefan’s conditions. His legs are incredible, the capacity he has to turn and explode away from the opponents. His first, second and third touches in small situations too are incredible.”
It remains to be seen whether Bajcetic will have a role to play at Liverpool next season, but Reds boss Arne Slot is a big fan of the youngster. “I hope it will be a big year for him because he’s a very talented player,” Slot said in August.
“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… 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, [he] could definitely, definitely play for us in the future.”
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