Harvey Elliott has endured a difficult loan spell at Aston Villa, with Liverpool manager Arn Slott confirming the winger will return to the club for next season.
Harvey Elliott has overcome difficult times at Aston Villa (Image: Getty Images)
Arne Slott has confirmed that Harvey Elliott will be “with us at the start of next season” after he was sidelined at Aston Villa.
Elliott, 23, joined Villa from Liverpool last summer and has agreed a season-long loan deal, with Villa obligated to sign him in the next transfer window. However, it later emerged that this obligation would only be triggered if the English player played 10 games for the club.
Elliott quickly fell out of favor under Villa manager Unai Emery, making just nine appearances. The complicated nature of the transfer, combined with Emery’s reluctance to select him, means Elliott has only played 284 minutes for the first team this season.
Slott was asked about Elliott in Thursday’s pre-match press conference, ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Birmingham to face Villa the next day. Loan players are not eligible to play against their parent club.
“I think it didn’t go as well for him (Elliott) and for everyone as we hoped it would,” Slott said. “Normally you sign players on loan to use him, but that hasn’t happened very often. I can’t answer why that happens, but it’s never good when you don’t have too much time. I think he probably played more for us last season and went there more time.”
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“He’s a very talented player and he did really well at the Under-21 Euros. You would want a player like that to play more, but he went to a good team with a lot of good players.
“I’m not going to answer that, but it’s always a shame when a player like that doesn’t play much. He’s signed with us, so he’ll be with us at the beginning of next season.”
Elliott’s move to Villa Park was meant to reignite his fledgling career. Despite making 149 appearances for Liverpool and winning a number of accolades, including winning the Premier League last season, the youngster was never able to cement a starting place at Anfield.
But there was no doubt about his abilities. As Slott pointed out, Elliott was instrumental in England’s Under-21 Euro success last summer, earning him Player of the Tournament honors.
Harvey Elliott set to return to Liverpool at the end of the season (Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
It remains to be seen whether Elliott will leave Liverpool again before the summer transfer window closes. With Mohamed Salah set to leave and Hugo Ekitike recovering from a serious Achilles problem, there is a vacancy opening up at Anfield.
In fact, Slott could have benefited from Elliott’s presence this season as the squad has been battered by fitness issues. Liverpool’s manager is finding it difficult to establish a stable starting XI, with a number of players struggling to maintain full fitness.
Elliott could end the season with a silver medal as Villa progressed to the Europa League final. The Midlands team will play Freiburg in Istanbul on Wednesday.
As for Liverpool, the slot team will end the season empty-handed. But there are still plenty of risks for the Reds. To guarantee a spot in next season’s Champions League, they need to win one of their remaining two games.
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