Liverpool star Harvey Elliott has captured the attention after a superb display at the under-21 European Championships
Harvey Elliott
Liverpool starlet Harvey Elliott has been impressive for England's Under-21s this summer
(Image: Photo by Tullio Puglia - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Liverpool starlet Harvey Elliott left his England under-21 teammates gushing over his match-winning display as he dragged Lee Carsley's side into the European Championships final on Wednesday night. The attacking midfielder scored two second-half goals to set the Young Lions up with a blockbuster tie against Germany.
The Reds playmaker is looking to cap a good season personally after Arne Slot guided the club to the Premier League title. Although, the 22-year-old didn't pick up as many starts as he would have liked, he managed to make 18 appearances in the top-flight, scoring once and providing two assists.
His exploits in Bratislava took him to second in the golden boot race in the under-21's competition with Elliott looking to join Curtis Jones as a winner of the European Championships, after his Liverpool teammate achieved the feat two years ago - scoring in the final against Spain.
Elliott broke the deadlock after expertly finishing on his weaker right foot before he cancelled out Noah Ohio's leveller with a superb individual goal, firing low past NEC Nijmegen's Robin Roefs to send England into the final.
In a video posted to Instagram by the official Three Lions page, there were rave reviews from James McAtee, Jonathan Rowe and Omari Hutchinson.
"Oh my god, what a goal that is," McAtee began.
Rowe added: "You know you had to score that right. I was flipping grilled you know."
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Elliott now has four goals in five matches in the competition with Germany awaiting in the final.
The Three Lions come up against an in-form side after they brushed aside France in the semi-final with goals from Nelson Weiper, Nick Woltemade and Brajan Gruda in a 3-0 triumph.
In the video, the match-winner offered his thoughts, he said: "You know in the moment it just happened so quick and as Jonathan Row just said there, I thought you know I need to score otherwise I'm getting a grilling from him.
Former Chelsea and Arsenal prospect Omari Hutchinson got in on the act and dubbed the Liverpool talent with the new nickname: "Mr Clutch."
Brighton & Hove Albion became the latest club to lead the bookmakers' odds to sign Elliott in recent weeks and clubs will be circling, looking to sign the Liverpool attacker.
Uncertainty remains surrounding his future at Anfield, despite being a boyhood supporter, and Premier League legend Jermaine Defoe believes it could be a good opportunity for him to leave the club on the back of a superb tournament.
“There’ll be a lot of clubs watching this tournament," said the former Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland forward.
“We said it before, he’s too good to not be playing.
"When you’re producing in big tournaments like this against the best players, the two goals that we saw this evening, he’s a top, top player.
“For him, he just needs to go out and play, get himself in a team where he’s one of the main players, and just go out and express yourself and show how good you are, because this performance tonight, it’s amazing.”