Bajcetic's Potential Return to Celta Vigo Amid Liverpool Talks

Liverpool’s midfield overhaul is not done yet. With Curtis Jones already bound for Inter Milan in a deal that could reach £30 million, the next domino looks increasingly likely to be Stefan Bajcetic.

In Spain, Faro de Vigo report that Celta Vigo are pushing hard to bring the 21-year-old back to his boyhood club. This is no tentative enquiry. It is a move that is starting to feel inevitable.

From rising hope to stalled project

Two years ago, Bajcetic looked like one of Liverpool’s most exciting young answers in midfield. Technically sharp, calm under pressure, and brave on the ball, he briefly gave the impression that the club had unearthed a modern holding midfielder from within their own academy.

Then the brakes went on.

Injuries cut into his rhythm. Loan spells failed to re-ignite it. As Liverpool’s plans evolved under Andoni Iraola, the path back into the senior squad narrowed. He has not played a first-team game for more than two years. For a player once tipped to grow into a key role, that is a brutal stall.

Celta’s plan: reset in familiar territory

From Celta’s side, the idea is simple and ambitious at the same time: take Bajcetic home, rebuild his body and his confidence, and do it in a place he already understands.

The stumbling block is not interest, but paperwork. Bajcetic is under contract at Anfield until 2027. Celta, according to the report, are not pushing for a standard transfer with a fee and clauses. They would prefer a clean break from Liverpool’s side – a contract termination that leaves the player free to sign in Galicia without a major outlay.

That detail matters. It underlines Celta’s focus on opportunity over expenditure and shifts the pressure onto Liverpool and Bajcetic to agree how this story ends. Do Liverpool hold onto a talented but injury-hit midfielder with no clear route to minutes, or do they cut ties now and move on?

Celta’s sporting structure also has a clear route mapped out. Bajcetic would not walk straight into the first team. The plan, as reported, is for him to start with Celta Fortuna, easing him back into competitive football before pushing him towards La Liga action once he proves his fitness and sharpness.

Competition for his signature, but Celta’s pull is different

Sevilla and Getafe have also been linked during this window. On paper, both are attractive options. Yet Celta offer something the others cannot: the emotional pull of home and a coach who already knows him.

Head coach Claudio Giráldez handled questions on the situation carefully, stopping short of anything that could be read as open tapping-up.

“If he's happy and we can reach an agreement, it would be a good situation, but I'm not thinking about that right now,” he said. “He's a homegrown player; I don't talk about players we don't have. If I talk about any of them, it's those who have been here before because we understand that we always have a stronger connection, and on top of that, we have a very good relationship. I coached him. If it happens, great, but I don't talk about players we don't have.”

The message was cautious, but the subtext was clear enough: Celta know him, rate him, and would welcome him back if the numbers and circumstances line up.

Liverpool’s midfield picture after Jones – and possibly Bajcetic

For Liverpool, the timing is delicate. Jones has gone, taking with him a homegrown midfielder comfortable in tight spaces and trusted in big games. The club’s response, at least in the short term, is to look inwards again.

Trey Nyoni and James McConnell are expected to step into the gaps for squad minutes, a sign that the hierarchy are leaning towards streamlining the group rather than stockpiling similar profiles. If Bajcetic follows Jones out of the door, it would underline that approach: fewer midfielders, more trust in specific pathways.

That strategy brings risk. A long season can strip depth quickly, and Liverpool know better than most how injuries can rip through a department. Letting go of two technically gifted midfielders while banking on youngsters to absorb the shock is a bold call that will be judged harshly if the numbers do not hold up.

A promising chapter that never quite took off

The sense around Bajcetic now is not of a deal just starting to form, but of an outcome closing in. A return to Celta Vigo would give him a realistic shot at rebuilding his career in a league and a city he understands. For Liverpool, it would likely mark the end of a story that once looked full of promise but never quite escaped its early peak.

When he first emerged, he gave Anfield a glimpse of something different: composure, intelligence, and a style that hinted at a long-term solution in the deepest midfield role. Instead, injuries, loans and changing plans have left him on the brink of leaving via a contract termination and a place in a reserve side back in Spain.

If this is how it ends, most Liverpool fans will watch from a distance and hope he flourishes. The talent never really disappeared. The question now is whether the club that first believed in him will come to regret letting that talent go just as he prepares to start again.