Midfielder ready to join Liverpool after GENIUS Richard Hughes deal

The Reds' sporting director has been criticised a lot over the last few months.

But finally Richard Hughes is getting the recognition he deserves after striking an agreement with both Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.

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Getting those two contract deals over the line is a massive credit to Hughes, who stayed resolute during the negotiation process and did not cave into the star duos big demands but instead agreed a deal that would be mutually beneficial for all parties involved.

Now after getting that done, Hughes' attention is now fully on Liverpool's future.

A huge summer awaits him as he looks to bring in several reinforcements to bolster Arne Slot's squad, but there is one area where Hughes may not have to worry about securing signings.

For the last few years Liverpool have continued to try to reinforce their holding midfield options. First Moises Caicedo then Martin Zubimendi rejected the Reds one summer after another.

But now there is a midfielder coming in to join Slot's first team this summer, who Hughes has played a pivotal role in reviving his career.

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Earlier this year it felt like Stefan Bajcetic's career has stagnated. He was struggling for minutes at Red Bull Salzburg while playing under Pep Lijnders.

With the Austrian side struggling in the Champions League and domestically, Bajcetic's move had become a failure. Hughes acted quickly in order to repair the damage.

In a genius decision, Hughes secured a loan deal for Bajcetic to Las Palmas where the Spanish U21 international has been able to get his career back on track.

At Las Palmas, Bajcetic has become a regular in the starting line-up and he's been able to test himself coming up against some of the best players in the world.

Recently, Bajcetic caught the eye against Barcelona and Real Madrid with his performances.

Overall, his numbers are really impressive as well. Among midfielders in the league who have played at least 600+ minutes, no one has averaged more successful defensive actions than Bajcetic (13.57 per 90).

The Liverpool loanee has also averaged the most interceptions (7 per 90) among midfielders in the league.

Having a defensive behemoth like him could be a huge boost for Slot's side. Bajcetic has proven to be an adept ball winner and an excellent reader of the game.

He's also a very effective player on the ball. As per Wyscout, among U23 midfielders, only Pedri (8.59 per 90) and Damian Rodriguez (8.94) average more progressive passes than Bajcetc (7.57 per 90).

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Based on those numbers, Bajcetic is now definitely ready to join the Liverpool first team this summer, and it's all thanks to Hughes. Without the club's sporting director acting quickly to pivot and agree a genius loan move none of this would have been possible.