Fabrizio Romano: Liverpool star Harvey Elliott "not happy" after latest Aston Villa snubplaceholder image
Fabrizio Romano: Liverpool star Harvey Elliott "not happy" after latest Aston Villa snub | Getty Images
Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott has not played for loan club Aston Villa in a Premier League game since late September
The 22-year-old joined Villa on deadline day, as a loan deal was agreed with a conditional obligation-to-buy of £35m. The former Fulham youngster must make 10 appearances for Unai Emery’s side to trigger the permanent deal.
As things stand, he will be heading back to Anfield in the summer. There may even be scope for a January return but the clubs would need to agree on cancelling the loan but there has been no suggestion of that happening as of yet.
On Sunday, Elliott was completely left out of the squad as Villa beat Bournemouth 4-0. He was ineligible for the previous game as it was against Liverpool while he was also excluded from the squad as Villa beat Manchester City 1-0 in late October.
In the previous games - wins against Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur - he made the bench but was not introduced into the respective contests. Sunday’s game was the fourth-straight match in which he has been snubbed of the chance to play in the Premier League by Emery.
Giving an update on the player’s situation at Villa, Fabrizio Romano told GiveMeSport: "At the moment, it depends on his performances in training. The situation is still not changing and of course, Elliott is not happy."
Addressing the situation with Elliott, Emery said around two weeks ago: “He is training well, and he played some matches, but the performances weren't what we needed. Some players are playing as a no.10, and they are playing well, like [Emiliano] Buendia and [Morgan] Rogers, also Ross Barkley after he was out.
“In the squad today we needed to take one player out, and I decided for him. I am happy with him. He is training good. His commitment is fantastic and he is a good guy. Only 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."
When Elliott joined Villa he penned an emotional goodbye to Liverpool. He joined the Reds aged 16 and is a boyhood fan of the club. His message indicated that he must have felt he had played his final game for the Reds but that might not be the case if he continues to be left out at Villa.
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