Harvey Elliott was again left out of Aston Villa's matchday squad to face Leeds United on Sunday, with Villa boss Unai Emery instead preferring to name 18-year-old George Hemmings on the bench.
Liverpool loanee Elliott has played just 96 minutes of Premier League football for Villa since joining them on a season-long loan on transfer deadline day, but he hasn't appeared for them in the competition since he was taken off at half-time in a 3-1 win over former club Fulham at the end of September.
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Since then he played just four minutes off the bench in a Europa League win over Feyenoord before being an unused substitute in matches against Burnley, Tottenham and Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles.
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Elliott has now failed to make the bench for each of Villa's last four Premier League games, although one was against parent club Liverpool when he was ineligible. He was also an unused substitute against Maccabi Tel Aviv earlier this month.
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Under the terms of the loan deal Villa would be obliged to pay Liverpool £35m for Elliott when he reaches 10 appearances for the club, something that had been viewed as a formality.
But having been stuck on five games since the beginning of October, Elliott faces the possibility of not reaching 10 appearances by the time the transfer window reopens again in January, with Villa having nine more games to play this calendar year.
Transfer rules dictate that Elliott can't play for a third club this season having featured for Liverpool in the Community Shield, when he missed a penalty in the shootout defeat to Crystal Palace, and as a late substitute in the 3-2 win over Newcastle in August. He could however return to Liverpool and rejoin Arne Slot's squad.
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Speaking before the Leeds clash, Emery said the form of Emi Buendia, who returned to the club this summer after a period out on loan, was making it tough for Elliott to get into the team.
"Harvey Elliott, he is working very well," said Emery. "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."
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Elaborating on Buendia's displays, Emery added: "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."