Harvey Elliott has struggled to feature in games since joining Aston Villa on loan from Liverpool in the summer. But the attackers know exactly what has to happen if they are to remain at Villa Park after the end of the campaign.
Elliott made 149 appearances for the Reds after joining the club from Fulham in 2019. The 22-year-old made 34 Premier League appearances in Jurgen Klopp’s final season at Anfield, but fell out of favor under Arne Slott as Liverpool stormed to the title last season. And on transfer deadline day in the summer, he was shipped off to the West Midlands.
Elliott started just two games for Villa, the first against Brentford in the Carabao Cup in mid-September, and the second against Fulham in the Premier League two weeks later.
However, the talented ace went crazy at half-time against the Cottages and has not played in the Premier League since.
He remained on the bench against Burnley and Tottenham and was left out of Villa’s matchday squad completely when Manchester City visited the West Midlands on Sunday.
Elliott endured a disastrous start to his Villa career, appearing on the pitch just five times under manager Unai Emery.
However, there is a clause in Villa that obligates him to sign him for £35m if he plays 10 games over the season, meaning he will remain at the club permanently if he plays at least five more games by the end of May.
If he misses the 10 games, Emery will send him back to Liverpool, where he could find it even more difficult to feature.
Elliott is left red-faced by Emery’s latest snub after saying on signing for Villa: “It’s an incredible feeling. It’s every kid’s dream to play for a huge club like Aston Villa.”
“For me right now, it’s about starting as a player. The only way to do that is by playing games, and there’s no better place to do that than here, especially considering the manager, his philosophy, the way he plays and his belief in young players.”
Meanwhile, manager Emery explained the player’s absence from the match ahead of the match against Manchester City: “Harvey is number 10 in our structure, in our shape and he has played a few games, but there is still some adaptation left to add to our structure individually and that is the challenge we have.
“Obviously he’s been training well and working really well, but his performance (up to this point) hasn’t been good enough.”
