Harvey Elliott has struggled for game time at Aston Villa since joining the club on loan from Liverpool in the summer, and now faces an uncertain future
Harvey Elliott's future at Aston Villa is uncertain
Harvey Elliott's future at Aston Villa is uncertain(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
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Harvey Elliott's future is looking increasingly uncertain as his loan spell at Aston Villa continues. The former Liverpool midfielder left Anfield during the summer transfer window to complete a loan move to Villa Park.
Elliott departed Liverpool in pursuit of more regular first-team football, following the Reds' signing of Florian Wirtz during the summer transfer window.
Villa made five new signings in the summer with Victor Lindelof, Evann Guessand, Marco Bizot and Jadon Sancho joining Elliott in completing a move to B6.
Liverpool approved Elliott's departure on transfer deadline day, but the move hasn't entirely gone according to plan since the 22-year-old left Anfield.
Elliott has only made three appearances in the Premier League, starting just one match in the top flight, with his last league appearance dating back to September 28, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Villa manager Unai Emery hasn't included Elliott in the matchday squad for the past three Premier League games, although the midfielder couldn't play against parent club Liverpool last month due to the league's loan rules.
Liverpool included an obligation to buy clause in the loan deal that saw Elliott join Villa, with the fee set at £35million. However, various reports suggest this will only be triggered if Elliott makes 10 appearances for Villa.
There's now speculation about whether Liverpool might recall Elliott in January. The Anfield outfit do have the option to bring back Elliott in the New Year, but if the England Under-21 star plays five more times for Villa before then, a return to Anfield would be off the cards.
Another factor is that Elliott has already played for both Liverpool and Villa this season. This means he can't join another club in January due to the rule preventing players from representing more than two clubs in one season.
Harvey Elliott of Aston Villa
Harvey Elliott of Aston Villa(Image: Jacob King/PA Wire)
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From Liverpool's point of view, they're expected to monitor Elliott's progress at Villa closely until the terms of the obligation to buy are officially triggered.
Liverpool also need to consider that Mohamed Salah will be absent for a significant part of the season later on. Salah is set to join Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations in December and January, leaving the reigning Premier League champions without a key forward for several weeks.
If Egypt include Salah to their training camp ahead of matches against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 6 December, Jordan on 9 December and Nigeria on 14 December in preparation for the winter tournament, and then reach the final, the forward could miss up to 11 games.
However, the Liverpool forward is set to make it clear that he does not want to be released for the AFCON until as late as possible so he doesn't miss key matches.
Elliott, on the other hand, was occasionally used on the right wing during his time at Liverpool and could have been a potential replacement for Salah if he was still at Anfield.
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