Harvey Elliott has been frozen out by Aston Villa boss Unai Emery from almost the moment he arrived on loan from Liverpool
Liverpool have a number of big decisions to make in the January transfer window, but chief among them is the immediate future of Harvey Elliott.
The England youth international joined the Reds as a teenager from Premier League rivals Fulham. He has since gone on to make just shy of 150 senior appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 15 goals in that time.
One of those came against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 of the Champions League last season, giving Liverpool a crucial lead heading into the second leg of the tie at Anfield. However, that was one of just five goals across the entire campaign for Elliott, as he struggled for regular minutes under head coach Arne Slot.
Therefore, it was no surprise the 22-year-old was heavily linked with a move away from Anfield over the summer. A departure eventually came to fruition on deadline day, as he signed for Aston Villa on a season-long loan, with the move set to become permanent for £30 million, triggered only by reaching a certain number of appearances.
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Unfortunately for Elliott, it has been another tricky campaign and hopes of making Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad have all but disappeared. Not only because of the intense competition for places in his position for the Three Lions, but also because his game time at Villa Park has been virtually non-existent of late.
Elliott has made just seven appearances across all competitions, but has not been in a matchday squad since October. Despite reports of Villa’s coaching staff being impressed with his work ethic and application in training, he has been consistently overlooked by Villa boss Unai Emery.
The Villa boss has all but confirmed they will not be signing him permanently, which has left glaring question marks over his immediate future. The lack of game time, and omissions from squads entirely, is easily explained by Villa’s determination not to trigger his £35 million buy clause.
A report from BBC Sport earlier this month confirmed that there is no recall clause in the deal that saw him join Villa. Instead, it is possible the deal could be cancelled altogether, but that does not factor in the fact the Reds’ hierarchy likely will have accounted for his sale in their budget.
FIFA rules also state that a player cannot represent more than one club in any given season. His short cameo for Liverpool against Newcastle at the start of the campaign means the deal cannot be cancelled only for him to be sent out on loan again.
If he is to return to Anfield, he would have to see out the remainder of the season with Liverpool. In some cases, that could be viewed as a blessing for Slot, given the mounting injuries in the squad.
Alexander Isak was the latest to suffer a setback after he was forced off just 10 minutes after coming on against Tottenham on Saturday following a collision with Micky van de Ven. Cody Gakpo is also sidelined with injury, while Mohamed Salah is away with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Wataru Endo is out of action due to injury, while Slot is currently having to rely heavily on all of his midfielders, with few options off the bench as a result. Florian Wirtz limped off the pitch in the final minutes of the win against Spurs on Saturday holding the back of his leg, likely due to cramp, but no less concerning given Liverpool can ill afford any more injury setbacks.
