Harvey Elliott is stuck in a rut at Aston Villa, but Villa will not play him due to a clause in his loan deal with Liverpool, which manager Unai Emery has publicly called on the club to remove.
Harvey Elliott has had a frustrating time at Aston Villa (Image: James Gill/Getty Images)
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has accused Liverpool of “damaging” Harvey Elliott and said the terms of his loan contract were to blame for wasting the season. Elliott has barely featured on loan at Villa this season and Emery believes his hands are effectively tied by Liverpool’s demands.
The 22-year-old midfielder joined Villa on a season-long loan in September, hoping to play regularly after struggling for game time during the 2024-25 season when Liverpool won the Premier League. However, his temporary move to Villa turned out to be a nightmare, with him making just seven appearances so far.
That’s because Villa would have to pay Elliott £35m to sign him permanently if he reaches 10 appearances this season. As a result, Emery kept him on the sidelines, making a rare appearance in the Europa League match against Red Bull Salzburg on January 29, his first game in three months.
The Villa manager sympathizes with Elliott, who continues to play as a professional, and has now publicly appealed to Liverpool to remove the buy-out clause in his loan contract after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations have not had the desired effect.
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“I spoke to him and we were fair because there are two paths, one is sport and the other is business,” Emery said on Friday ahead of Villa’s Premier League game against Bournemouth. “To be fair, just in case. We’re trying, so I told him he’s going to help me and the door is open for him to play with me.”
“But it’s not only in my way and on my side. The opponent is Liverpool. If they lift the clause to play and we get him, (I told him) ‘You’re going to play with us here, it’s a sporting decision.'” But now it’s a sporting decision and a business decision as well. My sports decisions still remain the same – “You deserve to play, we need your qualities on the field, you’re going to play.”
“But Liverpool now hold the key, in case the clause is still in place. And I told him that if Liverpool lift the clause, that’s fair. We’ve been talking about it (terminating the clause), but we’re not talking about it now. We started talking about it three months ago. Of course, the transfer window closed on Monday.”
Manager Unai Emery criticized Liverpool over Harvey Elliott’s situation (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt/Getty Images)
Liverpool refused to recall Elliott in the January transfer window and are unlikely to change their mind about the terms of his contract. The England Under-21 star’s contract with Liverpool runs until June 2027, but he is linked with a summer move once his purgatory at Villa ends.
“It’s natural for him because he’s a calm, good guy and a great professional and his qualities are there,” Emery added. “Of course he has to play and he’s really patient. And we know we’re hurting him because he signed a contract with Liverpool in the summer and that contract already exists and we respect that decision and take responsibility for the sporting decision on my side.”
“Things could change for him in case Liverpool lift this clause. If Liverpool don’t want that, that’s fine, but the player is damaged.”
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