Liverpool's Midfield Gamble: Bajcetic Exit and Nyoni's Rise

Liverpool are stripping numbers from midfield and refusing to flinch.

Curtis Jones has already gone, sold to Inter Milan in a deal worth £30 million, and another departure from the engine room is now looming. Yet Anfield’s recruitment team are standing firm: there will be no new holding midfielder.

At a time when central midfield feels like the most fragile part of the squad, Liverpool are choosing conviction over cover.

Endo isolated, but hierarchy clear

Right now, Wataru Endo is the only recognised defensive midfielder in the squad. The 31-year-old offers control and experience, but he is not at the front of the queue when the big games roll around.

Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister are the preferred options, the players expected to occupy the two advanced central roles. Endo sits behind them, a safety net rather than a pillar.

The sale of Jones looked like the trigger for a classic late-window Liverpool move: smart, targeted, a specialist holding midfielder to balance the side. Instead, the club have gone the other way.

Graeme Bailey revealed earlier in the week that Liverpool had decided against signing another midfielder. That stance has now been echoed by The Athletic’s Liverpool correspondent, James Pearce, who reports that the decision is firm.

Despite the noise after the dramatic 2-2 draw with Newcastle, senior figures at the club insist the priority lies elsewhere – out wide, in attack, not in the middle of the pitch.

The plan is blunt. Szoboszlai, Gravenberch and Mac Allister will fight it out for two starting spots. Behind them, teenager Trey Nyoni has been elevated to fourth choice. Endo becomes the fifth man, offering depth and protection.

No replacement for Jones. No new destroyer in front of the back four. The club believe Nyoni is ready to carry more responsibility now.

Nyoni promoted, Bajcetic pushed towards the exit

While faith grows in one youngster, another is being ushered towards the door.

Stefan Bajcetic, one of the few natural defensive midfielders on the books, is on the verge of leaving Liverpool permanently. Injuries have wrecked his rhythm in England, stalling a breakthrough that once looked inevitable.

Now 21 and into the final year of his contract, Bajcetic is set to return to his former club, Celta Vigo. Trusted reporter Matteo Moretto reports that a club-to-club agreement is already in place.

Liverpool will receive only a nominal fee. The real value is tucked into a sell-on clause, a bet that Bajcetic can rebuild his career in Spain and generate a bigger payday further down the line.

Fabrizio Romano has added that Celta and Bajcetic are close to agreeing personal terms, which would clear the final obstacle to the move.

So Liverpool will lose Jones and Bajcetic, keep Endo as the only senior defensive shield, and lean heavily on a teenage Nyoni as the next man up.

It is a bold read on the squad. The question now is simple: when the season tightens and the fixtures pile up, will that gamble look visionary or reckless?