£35m star Harvey Elliott has missed out on Unai Emery's Aston Villa matchday squad yet again, with 18-year-old George Hemmings preferred ahead of him for the Premier League clash with Leeds United on Sunday.
The Midlands club are looking to record their sixth win in their last seven top flight matches at Elland Road, with three points guaranteeing they would jump up into the Champions League spots ahead of the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
The confirmed squad is the latest blow for Elliott, whom big things were expected of when he left Liverpool to join Villa during the summer transfer window.
From Bad to Worse for Harvey Elliott
harvey elliott-1
There was excitement when Elliott joined Aston Villa in a late-window deal, but the transfer hasn't gone as planned for player or club yet - in fact, it has been a disaster.
The 22-year-old has been limited to just 96 minutes of Premier League action for the Villans, and his absence at Elland Road means it is now four matches since he last made a matchday squad - albeit he was ineligible for one of those against Liverpool.
Previously to that, Elliott was an unused sub in successive matches, with his last game time in the league coming against Fulham at the end of September.
Sunday's setback will be even harder to take for the midfielder given Amadou Onana has missed out through injury, with an inexperienced 18-year-old selected ahead of him instead.
Having played for both Liverpool and Villa this season, a move away from Villa Park in January is not even possible for Elliott, meaning he needs to work his way back into Emery's plans if he wants to play football.
Who is George Hemmings?
unai emery
The 18-year-old midfielder has no experience above Under-21 or EFL trophy level, but he has impressed in both of those competitions in recent weeks.
Hemmings played the full 90 minutes in the EFL Trophy defeat to Leyton Orient last month, while he has also featured heavily in the Premier League 2 - obviously catching Emery's eye.