Liverpool manager Arn Slott may choose to strengthen his squad in the January transfer window by agreeing to recall Harvey Elliott from his unsuccessful loan spell at Aston Villa
Liverpool need to bring back Harvey Elliott, who was loaned to Aston Villa in January, to give Arne Slott more options, according to Don Hutchison. Elliott left Liverpool on transfer deadline day to join Villa on a season-long loan, but the move proved to be a disaster for the midfielder.
The 22-year-old has featured in just five competitive games for Villa and has been noticeably absent from the squad of late. The player, on loan from Liverpool, has not featured since making a brief substitute appearance against Feyenoord in the Europa League on October 2, but manager Unai Emery has made it clear he does not want to keep Elliott.
Villa would need to come up with £35m to sign him if he reaches 10 Premier League appearances, but Emery opened the door for him to leave last week. “He is playing with us on loan, but he will definitely not join us on a permanent contract,” the Villa manager said.
“I hope for the best for him and for us. I respect him as a player and as a person. He is training well but we have one situation with him. Hopefully he can play consistently and we can find a solution as to whether he continues his career with us or not.”
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Former Liverpool player Hutchison believes there are few options for England’s under-21 stars and Elliott should return to his parent club in January. FIFA rules prohibit players from appearing for more than one team in a season, meaning Liverpool and Villa are the only two options.
“If you were Liverpool, it would be best to bring him back and keep him in the team,” he told Oddsboom. “They didn’t have much on the bench at the weekend. I think that’s probably why Mo Salah was a bit lucky to be on the bench because (Cody) Gakpo was injured, (Ko) Endo was injured and (Conor) Bradley was suspended. So I think it’s a good move for Liverpool to bring him back.”
“But it’s strange that he didn’t have a game over for Villa. I can only say because he had the ability and he had a good attitude, but he was really close to Diogo Jota and he just feels it really deeply.”
Elliott started just two games in the slot as Liverpool won the Premier League title last season, before leaving for Villa in search of more regular appearances. Without him, Villa look like they have no future after an impressive run that saw them climb to third place in the Premier League.
Asked last month why Elliott wasn’t even in the matchday squad, Emery replied: “First of all, the other players are also performing very well.” “This is the first argument why he doesn’t play. He trains very well every day.”
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