Harvey Elliott is eager to kick on in his senior career, and Aston Villa have offered him a chance to achieve that target at club level. He sat down to talk about how this move came into being with VillaTV.
‘It's about kicking on'
Elliott expressed his happiness at sealing the deal to join a fellow Premier League club on deadline day.
“It feels incredible. First and foremost, I want to thank everyone for making this happen. Playing for a massive club like Aston Villa is every kid’s dream. I’m very happy that it’s over the line now.”
The attacker never hit 50% of the available Premier League minutes in a single season at Liverpool. His year-long loan at Blackburn Rovers in the **Championship**and role for the **England**Under-21 squad that won the **European Championships**in June showed what he could do as a more integral puzzle piece.
“It’s about kicking on as a player. The only way to do that is to play games. There’s no better place to do that than here, with the manager, his philosophy, the way he plays and his trust in the younger players.”
Two key factors appealed to the attacker. One was the atmosphere of the stadium and its supporters.
*“Coming to Villa Park, you see how passionate the fans are, how well drilled the team is, it’s really hard to play against. Having the opportunity to be part of it, I couldn’t say no. I’m just delighted to be here.”*
The manager made clear his plans for Elliott, who felt the beginning of a warm relationship in their talks.
“I’m really looking forward to it. He was very welcoming and what he had to tell me before I was even a Villa player took my heart, and it was feeling I had within myself that I wanted to be here, play for him.”
The 22-year-old now wants to repay the faith from the Basque and assert his quality at the highest level.
“I want to give my all for him as a coach and as a person for giving me trust and allowing me to come here to a massive club when he could have got many players around the world. The only way I can repay him is by working as hard as I can and leaving everything out on the pitch for him.”