Unai Emery outlined why he chose to leave Harvey Elliott out of the matchday squad for Aston Villa, who won their fourth successive Premier League game against **Man City**with a 1-0 scoreline.
Elliott decided to leave **Liverpool**after five years on the books of the Reds, moving to the Midlands on a year-long loan deal with an obligation to buy of £35 million including sell-on and buy-back clauses. As a valued squad member in Merseyside with the creativity to change games off the bench from the right wing or as an attacking midfielder, he was a deadline day item that attracted admirers.
The transfer has not produced much of note until now. Elliott scored the team’s first goal of the campaign in the third round of the Carabao Cup against **Brentford**in September, but he has not played for the Villans since he made a cameo appearance off the bench in a 2-0 win over Feyenoord.
Emery has insisted that he believes in the quality of the attacker, who is still only 22 years of age. However, his standards for the side, who have been regaining their rhythm in the last month, will not drop, and he is demanding that Elliott hits a certain level to get ahead of other options in the roster.
“In the squad we needed one player to take out and I decided him. I am happy with him, he's training well. His commitment is fantastic, he's a good guy. It was a tactical decision.
“I spoke with him about it and my advice was to keep going. He's a very good player, only our demands are at a high level and some players and how they are performing last year and this year, are playing in the same position. We signed him because I believe in him. He will need time.”