Update on Loanee Mateo Bajamich

Houston has a couple of players currently out on loan, one of them being winger Mateo Bajamich. Bajamich, 22 years old, is currently on loan with Huracan back in his home country of Argentina. I decided it was a good time to provide an update on Bajamich while he is out on loan.

The Dynamo decided to send Bajamich back out on loan prior to this season, and loaned him to Huracan. The loan runs through the end of this season, with it expiring in December. An interesting note with the move is that, according the Dynamo's release, Huracan has an option to purchase put in at the end of the loan. This means that if Huracan wishes to, the can elect to pay Houston a transfer fee (negotiated back in January) to keep Bajamich full-time, or he could return to Houston when the loan expires. Although what that potential purchase fee looks like is currently unknown.

Huracan currently plays in the highest level of soccer in Argentina, the Primera Division. This is a step up from where Bajamich had previously played while in Argentina when he was with Instituto (who plays in the 2nd division in Argentina).

Bajamich has played in 9 matches for Huracan so far this season (out of 19 potential matches). He has made 2 starts, and then has appeared as a sub 7 times. Overall on the season he has registered 253 minutes played. He has yet to score a goal, or register an assist. Huracan currently sits in 8th place in the table in the Primera Division. Houston fans would probably like to see Bajamich get more playing time which is a very valid concern, but he is at least getting some playing time and arguably more than he would in Houston currently.

Houston originally purchased Bajamich in late 2020 for a reported transfer fee of just over $1 million. After a brief loan back to Instituto, Bajamich played for Houston during the 2021 season although he was unable to etch out a consistent spot in the rotation a season ago. Then this past offseason, Houston elected to loan Bajamich back out to Argentina, but to the 1st division this time. This at least shows that Houston felt he was ready for a step up competition as they sent him to a higher level then he had been at before in Argentina.

For the Dynamo, Bajamich played in 9 matches last season with 1 start. He registered 1 assist while amassing 134 minutes played and completing 73.7% of his passes.

With the likes of Memo Rodriguez, Thor Ulfarsson, Corey Baird, and Beto Avila all as current internal options at winger for the Dynamo, Bajamich will need to prove that he can break into that group and earn playing time next season.

Bajamich's value is current listed as 880K on Transfermarkt. This is a promising amount for the 22 year old, but it is also less than what it was when he joined Houston. I believe that this is a big year for Bajamich. I believe he has a lot of promise, but this is a big year for him to prove to Houston that he should be apart of the Dynamo's plans and rotation next season and beyond. It will also be interesting to see if Huracan picks up his purchase option (and if so, how much it ends up being). Bajamich will remain in Argentina for the remainder of the MLS season, but there is still reason for the club and fans to keep an eye on his development. Especially considering the $1 million dollar transfer fee that the club paid for him just under 2 years ago.