Liverpool to unveil NEXT Declan Rice after Richard Hughes struck genius deal

Richard Hughes got one deal absolutely spot on in the January window and it completely went under the radar.

All the focus around Liverpool's new sporting director has been about his inability to bring new players in as well as the lack of movement on the contract renewal front.

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Hughes is still yet to come to terms with the likes of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold. As things stand they will all leave on a free transfer come the end of the season.

And with every passing day, that scenario becomes more and more likely.

But it's not all doom and gloom, Hughes did secure a pretty genius deal for Liverpool in the January transfer window which could secure the next Declan Rice for Arne Slot.

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Why Stefan Bajcetic will become Liverpool's next Declan Rice

In January, it looked like Bajcetic's career had truly grown stagnant. The Liverpool midfielder was struggling to break into Red Bull Salzburg's side.

With Pep Lijnders fired, Bajcetic's fate looked hopeless. But Hughes made the decision to recall him from that loan spell and send him out on loan to Las Palmas in La Liga.

This is a decision that has paid dividends. Bajcetic is now playing regular football in Spain's top flight and coming up against some of the best teams in the world.

Most recently, he faced Barcelona in what was an impressive outing against the current La Liga leaders. Going up against the likes of Pedri, Bajcetic was involved in plenty of duels and showcased both his passing and defensive abilities.

With every game it's becoming increasingly obvious that while most people will have profiled Bajcetic as a holding midfielder or no.6, he's more of a hybrid in the mould of Declan Rice.

Like Rice, Bajcetic played as a centre-back during his early career so this often means people only see him as a holding midfielder. However, the reality is that Bajcetic has matured into a much more complete midfielder.

As we wrote last week after his brilliant run into the box, he's a more well-rounded midfielder. Like Rice at Arsenal, Bajcetic cannot play the number six role on his own.

He can be excellent in a double pivot or as a more defensive minded no.8. These are his best positions and his loan spell at Las Palmas has made that clear.

Not only that, it's also making it clear that Bajcetic has talent. He's really catching the eye in La Liga so far and if he continues like this for the rest of the season, showcasing he can go up against the likes of Barcelona and still catch the eye, then there is a gem worthy of playing in Slot's first team in him yet.

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In fact, Bajcetic could easily become Liverpool's very own version of Rice, and the best thing is, the Reds didn't have to pay massive amounts to bring him to Anfield.

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