Harvey Elliott spoke to Birmingham World after making his Aston Villa debut against Everton.placeholder image
Harvey Elliott spoke to Birmingham World after making his Aston Villa debut against Everton. | Getty Images
Harvey Elliot was on top of the world in the summer, now he is facing a possible career defining decision.
Football is a fickle business. Any team or player can be on top of the world, only to see it collapse around them in the blink of an eye.
Liverpool’s 2025 couldn’t have been more of rollercoaster with one player in particular an almost textbook example of how quickly things can change. From winning the league and being the player of the tournament at the Under-21 European Championships, Harvey Elliot was on cloud nine.
The 22-year old playmaker wanted to stay at Anfield, however, with the signing of Florian Wirtz, his minutes were going to be even more limited. Signing for Aston Villa was supposed to be a launchpad for Elliot, instead, it has turned into a nightmare.
Harvey Elliot makes Aston Villa exit decision
There is no recall clause in Elliot’s loan, but with no chance of him getting any minutes at Villa Park, it would be a surprise if they didn’t cancel the deal so that he can play football elsewhere.
The problem that Elliot has at Villa is that Emery’s team went on a run of wins without him in the team and they decided that they didn’t need him early on. Emery has never complained about Elliot’s work rate or attitude, but the structure of the deal meant that he was up against it from day one, unless he hit the ground running. Elliot is also competing with Morgan Rogers and the Villa no.27 has been one of the Premier League’s star performers this season.
Getting out on loan and playing regularly has to be Elliot’s aim and he has proven that he can be a Premier League player. He might not have his pick of teams as he did during the summer, but there will be teams needing goals and assists who would love to have him for the second half of the campaign.
Emery confirms Elliot situation at Aston Villa
Emery looked to clear up Elliot’s saturation this week which only emphasises the need for Richard Hughes to find a solution, via BBC Sport: "The problem we have with Harvey is that this year he is on loan, and in case he plays matches we must buy him," said Emery. "We decided two months ago that we are not convinced to sign him, spending the money we would need to sign him.
"This is the only issue. He is training every day, always every day with very good behaviour and to help us in training sessions. This is not something good for him and good for us, but this is football and sometimes we must take some decisions which are not good for everyone."
The only decision that matters now is the right one for Elliot, having wasted the last six months of his career.
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