Harvey Elliott has made five appearances since joining Aston Villa on loan from Liverpool, with manager Unai Emery explaining the factors behind the playmaker's limited game time
Aston Villa's Harvey Elliott
Aston Villa's Harvey Elliott(Image: 2025 CameraSport)
View Image
Unai Emery has explained there are multiple factors behind Harvey Elliott's limited game time at Aston Villa, beyond just Emi Buendia's impressive return to form. Elliott, who arrived at Villa Park on an initial loan deal on deadline day, has featured in just five matches for the club so far.
Under the terms of the agreement, Villa will be required to pay Liverpool £35 million to make the transfer permanent if the 22-year-old makes another five appearances.
The midfielder was ineligible to face his parent club when Villa visited Anfield earlier this month, but was also omitted from the matchday squads for the fixtures against Manchester City and Bournemouth.
Emery has previously stated he considers Elliott's strongest position to be as a No. 10, but highlighted the abundance of options in that area as the primary reason for his restricted playing time, while he is also taking an extended amount of time to adapt.
Buendia, who had been anticipated to depart Villa last summer, is amongst those currently ahead of Elliott in the hierarchy. The Argentine has registered six goal contributions this campaign, finding the net against Fulham, Feyenoord, Tottenham, and Bournemouth.
"He had an injury for 10 months, and after he was training with us. He needed time to get in everything - good, mentally, physically confident," Emery explained regarding Buendia's resurgence.
"He struggled last year and all the season, firstly with us for six months, not getting his performance and not playing consistently and not feeling really good.
"When he was on loan in Germany, with Bayer Leverkusen, he didn't achieve his confidence. He didn't achieve minutes. He didn't achieve numbers to recover himself, like a player he is.
"This year is completely different. He started so focused. He started the season very demanding, getting fit, feeling confident, playing with his skills, showing in each match he played in pre-season.
"Everything that happened around him, he deserved it because he worked hard to recover his best form as a player like he had before he was here.
"When we decided to keep him here, and he decided to stay here as well, I was confident he could get the numbers he is achieving."
When questioned whether Buendia's impressive displays have been the primary reason for Elliott's limited opportunities, Emery responded: "It is everything, because the adaptation is something that some players need more than others.
"But the team is going forward and being very demanding to achieve individual and collective performance, also the consistency we need.
"Some players, they need more time, or we can speak about how he struggled last year, Buendia, to achieve what he is doing this season.
"Harvey Elliott, he is working very well. He is working consistently. He is a good guy and his commitment to Aston Villa is fantastic.
"I am happy how he is doing his work here, but now it is difficult because he has other players playing and performing well, for example Emi Buendia and other players."
Content Image
Content Image