Harvey Elliott moved to Aston Villa on a season-long loan from Liverpool but has struggled for game time under Unai Emery
Harvey Elliott
Harvey Elliott(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
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Simon Jordan has told Harvey Elliott he must force his way into Unai Emery’s thinking if the wants more game-time at Aston Villa.
The pundit was responding to Emery’s comments ahead of their Europa League match with FC Basel that Elliott has been left out for sporting reasons – rather than in fear of triggering the £35million obligation to buy.
Elliott has played only five times since his transfer deadline day loan from Liverpool and not at all for the last two months, even dropping out of Emery’s match-day Premier League squad.
That has left him in limbo seemingly unwanted by Villa but unable to move to another club due to rules which stipulate you can not play for more than two in a single season.
Asked on talkSPORT whether Elliott had been ‘sold a pup’ by Villa, the former Crystal Palace owner supported the club.
“I don't see why they would have been. Aston Villa are flying. What are they third in the Premier League, third in the Europa League? He can't get in the team,” he told the White and Jordan Show.
“That's just an unfortunate set of circumstances that the players that are ahead of him are doing so well.
“What would you do? Take them out of the team, break up the rhythm of the side that's going in such great nick now.
“It started badly, it's got into its rhythm now. You're not going to change the side, so he's going to have to force his way into the side.
“Whilst I think he's an OK player, I don't think he's a world beater and I think where Aston Villa are at this moment in time there's no case to get him in the side.
“It's not their job to get him in their side so they can trigger a liability. It's also not their job, which is why, Emery's pushing back against the underlying assertion that might have been made by some smart**** suggesting that Villa are trying to avoid the obligations that they might have entered into willingly at the beginning of the season and now don't feel so willingly about it.
“Emery strikes me as the sort of person that wants his best shoulders to the wheel and if Harvey Elliott was his best shoulder, it'd be to the wheel.
“He's not as a football manager going to go ‘Well, I don't want to cost my club any money’.
“If he wanted him and was prepared to enter into a conversation where the player was part of a set-up if he played ten games, I think that's a fool's errand because I don't think you trigger a value of £35million at Aston Villa by playing ten games in the season...
“I don't think it's because he's being treated unfairly, it's because the team's doing so well.”
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