Liverpool were advised to recall Harvey Elliott from a disastrous loan spell at Aston Villa in January to give Arne Slott further depth in the squad. Elliott’s season-long deadline day move to Villa Park was a disaster for the midfielder.
The 22-year-old has made just five appearances in all competitions for Villa and has been a notable absentee from matchday squads of late. The player, on loan from Liverpool, has not featured since making a cameo as a temporary substitute in the Europa League game against Feyenoord on October 2, but manager Unai Emery has made it clear he has no intention of continuing Elliott’s service.
Villa would need to pay £35m to secure a permanent deal if he reaches 10 Premier League appearances, but Emery effectively opened the exit door last week.
“He is playing with us on loan, but he will not definitely join us on a permanent contract,” Villa’s head coach 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 will try to play consistently and we can find a solution as to whether he continues his career with us or not.”
Former Liverpool star Hutchison believes Elliott should return to Anfield in January given his limited options.
Elliott’s only possibilities are Liverpool and Villa, as FIFA rules prevent players from representing more than three clubs in one campaign.
“If you were Liverpool, it would be best to bring him back and keep him in the team,” Hutchinson told Oddsboom.
“They didn’t have a lot of people on the bench at the weekend. Maybe that’s why they were a little bit lucky that Mo Salah was 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 doesn’t have game time overs at Villa. I can only say because he has the ability and he has a good attitude, but he was really close to Diogo Jota and he just feels it really deeply.”
Elliott left for Villa in hopes of more consistent playing time, having made just two starts under Slott last season as Liverpool won the Premier League title.
However, his future at Villa appears uncertain as the team has grown without him and is currently in third place in the Premier League following an impressive run of form.
Commenting on Elliott’s absence from the matchday squad last month, Emery explained: “First of all, the other players are performing very well. That’s the first argument for why he doesn’t play. He trains very well every day.”
