Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool: Match Review
Harvey Elliott has been deemed as surplus to requirements by Aston Villa after joining on loan from Liverpool.
Liverpool will soon begin discussions with Aston Villa over the return of Harvey Elliott, reports suggest.
The attacking midfielder moved to Villa Park from the Reds on summer transfer deadline day. Elliott opted to leave his boyhood club in search of more regular minutes. He was a bit-part player at Anfield and did not make a single Premier League start en route to Liverpool winning the Premier League title last season.
And having been named Player of the Tournament when helping England claim Under-21 European Championship glory, a move to Villa appeared the right step for Elliott. However, the former Fulham man has been deemed as surplus to demands by Villans boss Unai Emery. Elliott has made just six appearances and has not been included in the past nine Premier League match-day squads.
Villa have an obligation to purchase Elliott for £35 million if he makes a certain number of appearances. Talks between the two clubs are soon set to start. Speaking on YouTube, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano said: “Liverpool are prepared, with Aston Villa, to discuss a solution for Harvey Elliott. He is not playing and Liverpool are not happy, Harvey Elliott is not happy and Aston Villa want to find a solution. Harvey Elliott is expected to return to Liverpool and assess the situation.
“Discussions will take place but for sure, he's not expected to stay at Aston Villa. Unai Emery, from what I'm told, is happy with the player's attitude in training. It's just a technical and tactical decision. Harvey Elliott is epected to be back at Liverpool and assess the situation.”
FIFA rules state that Elliott is unable to play for another club this season. Players can only play official matches for two clubs in one season, with an exception for associations with overlapping seasons (like winter leagues) allowing play for a third club under specific conditions, ensuring sporting integrity.
Elliott came off the bench as a late substitute for Liverpool in a 3-2 win over Newcastle United in August, so cannot complete another move to a European outfit.
However, Reds head coach Arne Slot may opt to reintegrate Elliott in his plans for the second half of the campaign. Liverpool are set to be without £125 million British record signing Alexander Isak for at least a couple of months after he broke his leg in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Liverpool have not opted to pursue a deal for AFC Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, while Mo Salah could be missing until towards the end of January as he represents Egypt at the African Cup of Nations.
Slot was tight-lipped about the potential of Elliott heading back to Anfield when asked before the Reds’ game against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Anfield boss said: “Harvey is an Aston Villa player and he was supposed to be going there for the season. Any questions about him, the best thing is to ask Villa. But then they are doing really well, by the way.”
Continue Reading