Aston Villa loanee Harvey Elliott could reportedly return to Liverpool ahead of a fresh switch elsewhere in January.
The 22-year-old joined us from the Merseyside outfit last summer in an initial loan move, with a clause in the agreement making his switch permanent if he makes 10 appearances for us.
Thus far, he has featured on five occasions, and having been left out of the matchday squad by Unai Emery consistently over the past two months, it appears as though the club aren’t keen on the idea of triggering that clause and having to sign him outright.
Want more Villa news? Subscribe to Talk Villa+ below for ad-free weekly newsletters, exclusive articles and much more sent directly to you. The TalkVilla podcast is also now available, have a listen, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or YouTube. UTV!
Although Emery has praised Elliott’s application in training and will no doubt have continued to work closely with him on his adaptation, we’re seemingly not yet convinced, and the clause has subsequently stifled his development with us and restricted his involvement.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Charlotte FC are now lining up a loan offer for Elliott to take him to MLS until the summer, and it’s now up to the player to decide what next step he wishes to take in his career.
Should he approve the solution, he will likely return to Liverpool in the coming days or weeks before moving on to Charlotte, and it has to be said that it seems like the sensible option for all concerned as he is unable to feature for a third club in Europe in the same season.
Villa would offload him from the wage book and balance out our signing of Alysson while making room for further reinforcements potentially, while Elliott would get an opportunity to play regularly and get his career back on the right track.
As for Liverpool, they should welcome the idea of him putting himself in the shop window with a positive spell Stateside, and so it would make a lot of sense to get this one over the line.
Time will tell if Elliott agrees or not, but our busy start to the January transfer window could continue next week.