Forgotten Liverpool star loved by Jurgen Klopp 'to return in January transfer window'

Liverpool is set to cut Stefan Bajcetic's season-long loan deal at RB Salzburg short, with the Reds reportedly having already identified a different club for him to continue his development at during the second half of the campaign.

Bajcetic joined Salzburg last summer, initially linking up with former Reds assistant Pep Lijnders, who was appointed Salzburg boss after leaving Liverpool. Lijnders was sacked nine days before Christmas, although it is not clear whether that has had any bearing on Liverpool's decision to end Bajcetic's loan spell early.

There has been no official confirmation as yet, but it has been reported by multiple outlets that Bajcetic has played his last game for Salzburg.

The midfielder will reportedly continue his development in Spain, with DaveOCKOP reporting that Bajcetic is set to join Real Betis for the second half of the season. It's claimed Bajcetic is keen to return to Liverpool before completing his loan move to Betis, presumably for a debrief on his time in Austria.

The 20-year-old appeared 19 times for Liverpool during the 2022-23 campaign but a calf injury sidelined him for much of last season, restricting him to just three appearances.

(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was responsible for promoting Bajcetic to the Reds' first team, and was full of praise for the youngster after he scored a goal in a win against Aston Villa in December 2022.

"He's cheeky as hell and he is not worried about anything," Klopp said. "He just plays football and he can do that exceptionally well. He had a football-playing father, so the genes are there but also the attitude, awareness and match intelligence."

Klopp said last year that he felt Bajcetic's injury problems came as a result of him playing too many minutes at a tender age. The German said: "Obviously what happened before was that the body was not 100 percent ready for the intensity professional football is asking for."

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