Liverpool starlet Harvey Elliott’s season-long loan move to Aston Villa at the end of the summer transfer window has not gone according to his plans so far.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Harvey Elliott never wanted to leave Liverpool, even on loan, but now his time at Aston Villa has taken a turn for the worse.
Elliott has established himself as part of Liverpool’s plans under Jurgen Klopp, with the German having appeared in more than 30 league games in each of the past two seasons. But things got tougher under manager Arne Slott, with him considering a move for the first time since joining the Reds as a teenager.
With the World Cup just around the corner, Elliott was looking to build on his England Under-21 Euros victory and break into the first team. But while Under-21 teammate Alex Scott has stepped up to the senior ranks, Elliott’s nightmare with Aston Villa has kept him further away from a call-up than ever.
“Look, if I had my way, I would spend the rest of my career here. It’s very simple. I love everything about the club,” Elliott told The Anfield Wrap over the summer. “But at the same time you have to be selfish with yourself and see what’s best for you. I have big ambitions. I want to go to the World Cup. I want to continue to be successful as a player.”
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“I think it still needs to be looked at,” he continued. “I really need to talk to everyone and look at the situation because we’ve got a lot of new players coming in. I don’t know if that’s going to get in the way for me, but that’s something I need to decide and consider.
“My main focus is here now. As far as I know, I’m here for the season at the moment. Unless something changes, we have a busy preseason and it’s non-stop. I have to make sure I’m focused on that and be ready for everything.”
Elliott was more of a substitute than a starter in Klopp’s final season, at least as far as the league is concerned, but he averaged a goal or assist every 111 minutes in the league and every 155 minutes in all competitions. His contribution per minute record in the slot was slightly better, but that doesn’t mean much considering he played just 822 minutes in league, domestic cup competitions and the Champions League.
But there were some impressive performances hidden within, particularly his cameo appearance against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. It’s no wonder that West Ham and RB Leipzig were both linked and had an interest in the 22-year-old, but it looks like Villa were definitely the wrong choice.
Elliott has played just 167 minutes in all competitions since joining Unai Emery’s side on a season-long loan. He has only started once in the Premier League, playing 45 minutes against former club Fulham, and his only appearance since that game at the end of September was a four-minute cameo against Feyenoord in the Europa League.
Villa would be forced to sign him on a permanent basis for a fee of around £30m if he plays 10 games, but that is far from a certainty. He has appeared in five games so far, but hasn’t even been in the matchday squad for the last three league games (including one against parent club Liverpool, in which he was ineligible).
According to The Athletic, there is no recall clause in his contract and neither club has expressed any intention to cancel his loan. This is despite Liverpool planning for Mo Salah to head to Morocco to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations, and despite the newspaper indicating Villa’s new number nine is Emery’s third choice behind former loanee Marco Asensio and West Ham star Lucas Paqueta.
The return of Emi Buendia has undoubtedly made it easier for Emery to ignore new players. Buendia spent the second half of last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen as he aims to return to form after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and he has reaped the benefits this season.
The Argentina international has yet to reach the perfect 90 points, but he has three goals and two assists in 430 minutes in the Premier League and is looking to win the support of his manager. This is bad news for Elliott. With Buendia and Morgan Rodgers firmly ahead of him in the pecking order these days, a deep starting role is out of the question as Emery relies on longer-serving stars who don’t need extra time to adapt to his system.
Asked why Elliott was not in the matchday squad for the recent win over Manchester City, Emery said: “He has been training well and played in a few games, but his performances were not what we needed.” “We have players like Buendia and Rodgers who are playing as number 10s and they are playing well, especially after Ross Barkley was also out.
“We had to take one player out of the team, so we decided on him. I’m happy with him. He’s training well. His dedication is great and he’s a good guy. (It’s) just a tactical decision.”
It’s a long season, so Elliott could still force his way into Emery’s starting lineup. But now he may be wondering if he should have stayed after Chiesa was largely sidelined at Anfield last season, with the fact that Federico Chiesa spent twice as much playing time at Villa as he did at Liverpool.
One of his motivations for leaving Liverpool was the chance to sneak into England’s World Cup squad. There are still some theories about his future with the club, but unless there is a dramatic change in the new year, those dreams appear to have been for naught.
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