Harvey Elliott was dealt another – rather predictable – blow on Sunday as he was left out of another gameday squad in the Premier League.
The midfielder reluctantly left Liverpool to join Aston Villa on loan during the summer transfer window, having recognized that he was unlikely to get regular game time under Arne Slot.
That loan deal includes an obligation for Villa to make Elliott's deal permanent if he makes a certain number of appearances for the Midlands club. However, three and a half months into the season, Elliott has appeared just five times for Villa, with the last of those appearances coming on Oct. 2.
So what exactly is going on?
The terms of the loan deal
Elliott joined Villa on deadline day (Sept. 1) on a season-long loan deal, with Villa committing to making the deal permanent in the summer of 2026 for a fee of $46 million.
The condition attached to that deal is that Elliott must make 10 appearances in all competitions for it to become obligatory for Villa to sign the player permanently.
Why the permanent deal is in serious doubt
Simply, Elliott isn't playing for Villa – and he's not even getting in gameday squads in the Premier League at the moment.
Elliott's last appearance for Villa in any competition came two months ago, and his last appearance on the bench for a league game came on Oct. 19.
His plight isn't much better in Europe: although he has made all five of Villa's squads in the Europa League, he has only made one appearance – as an 86th-minute substitute against Feyenoord on Oct. 2. That was his last appearance in any competition.
Harvey Elliott
Elliott has only made five appearances for Villa (Image: AFP or licensors)
Why he's not playing
Unai Emery recently said that the good performances of Emiliano Buendia, who has revived his Villa career in recent months, is one of the reasons behind Elliott's recent lack of game time.
Another theory that has been reported – and seems logical – was that Villa's decision to sign Elliott in the first place was heavily influenced by Monchi, the club's former president of football operations.
Monchi left Villa less than a month after Elliott signed for the club, and disagreements between Monchi and Emery over Villa's transfer targets was reportedly one of the main reasons for his departure.
What Emery has said
Speaking last week about Elliott's prospects at Villa: "We now have a lot of matches. We must focus on each match with the players we have now. We are not thinking about the transfer window in January. He (Elliott) is one of our players and hopefully he can help us. Then, we are going to decide."
Speaking last week on what Elliott needs to do to earn more minutes: "Firstly, there are other players performing very well. This is the first argument of why he is not playing. He is training very well every day."
The troublesome FIFA rule
Elliott finds himself in a tough spot, as FIFA rules stipulate that a player cannot appear for more than two clubs in a single season.
Elliott has already made appearances for both Liverpool and Villa, so his only hopes of playing again this term are to break through at Villa or to return to Liverpool and play for Arne Slot's team.
Both of those outcomes seem unlikely at the moment, so Elliott may have to wait until the start of next season to start playing regularly again.
West Ham has reportedly asked to be kept informed on Elliott's situation, while RB Leipzig continues to be linked with a move for the 22-year-old.
Liverpool could opt to recall Liverpool in January and sell him to a club other than Villa during next summer's transfer window.