Arsenal 4 Aston Villa 1: Matt Maher verdict
What will happen to Harvey Elliott’s loan deal as Aston Villa and Liverpool’s transfer reality becomes clear.
Harvey Elliott is expected to return to Liverpool this month as Aston Villa have no intention of activating their option to buy.
The 22-year-old midfielder, very much a victim of circumstance, has been left to rot in Villa’s reserves for the past three months. Elliott has made merely five appearances across all competitions since joining on his season-long loan, including just two starts.
It’s been a harsh period for the young Elliott, who won the Premier League with Liverpool and was named the Under-21 European Championship Player of the Tournament just a few months ago. Life really comes at you fast.
Aston Villa communicate £35m Liverpool transfer decision
Villa have already informed Liverpool that they will not be signing Elliott permanently. Birmingham World understands that Villa are obligated to buy Elliott for £35 million if he were to make 10 appearances, not just in the Premier League but combined across all competitions.
It’s understood that Elliott was initially seen as an important signing for the future - hence Villa agreed to the obligation to buy - but that feeling has since dissipated. It’s not that Elliott is a bad player; he’s still highly thought of. Villa just unfortunately don’t have much funds to play with and the £35m fee would require sales if more signings are to be made this winter.
Fabrizio Romano has confirmed as much, reporting that Elliott will head back to Anfield, at least initially, with a fresh twist. The Italian journalist posted to X: “Charlotte FC are prepared to offer Elliott the chance to play on loan in MLS until June. Elliott, likely to return to Liverpool after being unused at Villa on loan. Decision up to the player.”
Unai Emery confirms Harvey Elliott plan
Emery would never want to trap a player in an uncomfortable position, and so it certainly wasn’t his intention to severely limit Elliott’s involvement. As mentioned previously, Villa were originally comfortable with the obligation to buy aspect of the deal, otherwise they wouldn’t have signed off on it.
Panic buy or not, it would be foolish of Villa to reach such an agreement if there was no intention whatsoever on bringing Elliott to B6 for the long term. Knowing there was plenty of interest around, Liverpool could of course drive a hard bargain, but the Villans still wouldn’t have been pressured into anything. It’s more hindsight rather than anything else.
Emery has been tight-lipped about Elliott until now, reluctant to give much away. In truth, however, it’s been the worst-kept secret that Villa regret signing Elliott - at least in the manner they did - and Emery has finally decided to break his silence on the situation.
"The problem we have with Harvey is this year he is on loan and in case he is playing matches, we must buy him,” Emery admitted. “We decided two months ago we are not convinced to sign him, spending the money we need. This is the issue."
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