BirminghamLive brings you the Aston Villa headlines on Tuesday, November 25
Aston Villa's Harvey Elliott
Aston Villa's Harvey Elliott(Image: Anna Gowthorpe/Shutterstock)
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Daily Aston Villa digest - November 25, 2025
Harvey Elliott’s time at Villa hits new low
Lack of Playing Time: Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott is struggling for minutes and has not played in the Premier League for eight weeks.
Transfer Risk: He has made 5 of the 10 appearances required to trigger a mandatory £35 million permanent transfer to Aston Villa.
Manager's Stance: Manager Unai Emery appears to be avoiding playing Elliott to prevent triggering the compulsory purchase clause, as he is not convinced the player fits his squad.
Squad Exclusion: He was overlooked for an 18-year-old on the bench to play Leeds.
Future: If the loan ends in January, he can return to play for Liverpool for the remainder of the season.
Inside Villa Park: Rogers' proven right, Emery's top four message and Chelsea pressure
Morgan Rogers' Resilience: After a difficult start to the season where he even faced sarcastic applause, Morgan Rogers' confidence was vindicated as he scored both goals in the 2-1 win over Leeds United.
Emery's Top Four Focus: Manager Unai Emery emphasised to his team the critical importance of the victory against Leeds to break into the Premier League top four, which they achieved.
Exceptional Form: Aston Villa is one of the in-form teams in Europe, having won nine of their last 11 matches across all competitions and earning 18 points from their last 21 available Premier League points.
Pressure on Chelsea: The victory propelled Villa into fourth place, just two points behind third-placed Chelsea, with the opportunity to potentially leapfrog them depending on results in the upcoming fixtures.
Squad Depth Key to Busy Period: With a congested schedule of six games in 17 days, Unai Emery benefits from a largely healthy squad (with Tyrone Mings being the only prolonged injury absence) which allows him to rotate players and maintain performance levels.
Malen admits surprise at Rogers' quality
Surprise at Free-Kick Quality: Donyell Malen admitted he was surprised by Morgan Rogers' exceptional skill, stating he "didn’t even know he had that quality" to score the stunning, dipping free-kick that won the match.
Immediate Impact as Substitute: Malen himself was an effective half-time substitute, providing the crucial assist for Rogers' first goal just two minutes into the second half.
Rogers' Career First: The brace against Leeds secured Rogers his first-ever Premier League brace and replicated a recent free-kick goal scored by teammate Emi Buendía.
Focus on Team Morale: Malen highlighted the positive atmosphere, noting that the entire team is "having fun" due to the high performance and energy in the dressing room and training ground.
Best of the Rest: When asked about challenging Arsenal, Malen kept the focus narrow, stating the team believes they can "achieve great things" but must continue to go "game by game" to maintain their current winning streak.