Bajcetic Eyes Celta Vigo Return as Liverpool Talks Heat Up

Liverpool’s midfield shake-up is not finished yet. With Curtis Jones already sold to Inter Milan in a deal that could reach £30 million, the spotlight has swung onto Stefan Bajcetic – and his Anfield exit is moving closer.

In Spain, Faro de Vigo report that Celta Vigo are pushing hard to bring the 21-year-old back to the club where he grew up. This is not a tentative enquiry. It is a plan.

From breakthrough hope to stalled project

Two years ago, Bajcetic looked like one of Liverpool’s most exciting young prospects. Technically sharp, composed on the ball and brave in tight spaces, he appeared tailor-made for the modern holding midfield role. For a spell, it felt as though Liverpool had found an internal solution to a long-term problem.

Then the injuries arrived.

Fitness issues broke his rhythm, and the loan spells that followed never truly reignited his progress. While he battled to regain momentum, the landscape at Liverpool shifted. A new cycle under Andoni Iraola has narrowed his route back into the senior side, and he has not made a first-team appearance in more than two years.

The question now is not about potential. It is about opportunity.

Celta’s plan: rebuild at home

From Celta Vigo’s perspective, the idea is simple and ambitious at the same time. Bring Bajcetic home. Put him back in a familiar environment. Give him continuity, minutes, and the chance to rebuild both fitness and confidence.

The sticking point is his contract.

Bajcetic is tied to Liverpool until 2027. According to the report, Celta would rather not pay a traditional transfer fee. Their preferred route is for Liverpool to terminate the deal early, leaving the midfielder free to return to Galicia without a major financial outlay.

That detail changes the dynamic. It places the burden on Liverpool and the player to agree a clean break, rather than on Celta to meet a valuation. For Liverpool, the decision is stark: keep a talented but stalled midfielder on the books, or cut ties and move on from a story that has lost its early momentum.

Celta’s sporting project for Bajcetic is also clear. He would not be dropped straight into the first team. The expectation is that he would initially link up with Celta Fortuna, the club’s reserve side, easing him back into competitive football before any step up to Claudio Giráldez’s senior squad.

Competition from Spain, but Celta pull strongest

Sevilla and Getafe have been mentioned as admirers during this window, yet Celta carry a different kind of weight. This is Bajcetic’s boyhood club, the place where he first emerged. The emotional connection and developmental logic both point in the same direction.

Giráldez, for his part, chose his words carefully when asked about the situation.

“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.”

It was a measured answer, but the subtext was obvious: Celta would welcome him back if the pieces fall into place.

Liverpool’s midfield puzzle after Jones

All of this unfolds against a backdrop of change at Anfield.

Jones has already gone. Bajcetic could follow. Yet there is no immediate expectation that Liverpool will rush into the market for a like-for-like replacement. Inside the club, the belief is that young options such as Trey Nyoni and James McConnell can help absorb some of the minutes in the short term.

That approach points towards streamlining rather than stockpiling – trimming numbers, trusting internal development, and accepting a degree of risk. It also raises a wider question: how many technically gifted midfielders can Liverpool afford to let go before depth becomes a problem across a long season?

A promising chapter close to its final page

Right now, the sense is of an outcome gathering speed rather than a negotiation just getting started. Celta Vigo see an opportunity. Bajcetic sees a route back to regular football. Liverpool see a decision they can no longer postpone.

For the player, a return to Spain may be the most realistic way to rediscover his rhythm and rebuild a career that once looked set to flourish at Anfield. For Liverpool, it would mark the end of a story that began with genuine excitement and is now drifting towards a quiet, painful conclusion.

If the contract is torn up and he walks away, Liverpool will lose a midfielder who once symbolised a new era of homegrown solutions. Celta, on the other hand, would regain a familiar face with unfinished business.

The only real doubt left is not whether Bajcetic will leave, but how quickly Liverpool are prepared to turn the page on what might have been.