Arne Slot has discussed the prospect of Harvey Elliott potentially returning from his Aston Villa loan in January.
When Harvey Elliott signed for Aston Villa on transfer deadline day in September, the young midfielder envisioned a season of regular football and a pathway to a permanent £35 million switch to the Midlands club. Four months later, that dream has devolved into a nightmare that has prompted growing speculation about a January recall to Liverpool.
The 22-year-old England Under-21 international’s loan spell has been nothing short of disastrous. Elliott has made just five appearances across all competitions for Villa, with his last outing coming against Feyenoord in the Champions League on October 2. Since then, he has been completely frozen out by manager Unai Emery, failing to make a single matchday squad for over two months.
The contract details have only complicated matters further. Villa included an obligation-to-buy clause that would be triggered if Elliott reaches 10 appearances, at which point they would be required to pay £35 million to make the transfer permanent. With the midfielder stuck on five appearances, Emery has made his position abundantly clear—he has no intention of activating that clause.
“We are speaking with him and about his situation,” Emery revealed ahead of Villa’s Europa League clash with Basel in December. “He is not here with us. Hopefully, we can get the best for him and the best for us. He is training well, but we have one circumstance with him. He is on loan playing with us, but he is not definitely adding to us with a permanent contract.”
But Arne Slot has hinted that he and Liverpool have no plans to bring Elliott back to Anfield in the January window:
“Harvey is an Aston Villa player,” the Dutchman said in his pre-Wolves press conference
“He was supposed to go there for a season. The best to ask is Villa, they are doing very well by the way.”
Elliott’s predicament is further muddied by transfer regulations. Having already featured competitively for Liverpool as a substitute in the 3-2 victory over Newcastle United, and then turning out in both the Premier League and EFL Cup for Aston Villa, he has now played for two clubs in official competitions this season.
Under FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, a player is permitted to play competitive fixtures for only two clubs within the same campaign.
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