Harvey Elliott has made little impact during his loan spell at Aston Villa
Harvey Elliott
Harvey Elliott has made limited appearances for Aston Villa on loan(Image: Getty Images)
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Aston Villa have included Harvey Elliott in the squad for Sunday's match at Newcastle United, despite him being largely overlooked during his loan spell. The Liverpool loanee has had a challenging time at Villa Park since his summer move but has been selected by Unai Emery for the clash at St. James' Park.
The Spanish manager has shown little inclination to field Elliott, leaving his future uncertain. However, injuries to Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn have led to the England Under-21s star being called up for the game.
The attacking midfielder has been a fringe figure, with Villa likely wary of activating a £35million purchase clause. If he makes 10 Premier League appearances, they would be obliged to pay the fee.
The Telegraph reports that five of those appearances must be in the second half of this season, and Emery had previously suggested the player would return to Anfield. He said: "The problem we have with Harvey is that this year he is on loan, and in case he plays matches we must buy him.
"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."
Villa's injury concerns could provide an opportunity for a rare appearance from Elliott, who was crowned the standout player at the Under-21s Euros in the summer, yet hasn't made an impact at Villa Park. Despite attracting interest from clubs such as RB Leipzig, he moved to the Midlands but has seen his development stagnate despite Villa's strong campaign.
As Elliott has featured for Liverpool and Villa in competitive fixtures this season, he is prevented from joining a third European club, either on loan or permanently in January. The former Fulham starlet was very much a fringe player at Liverpool with Arne Slot predominantly deploying him from the substitutes' bench.
Consequently, he departed Merseyside, but has encountered similar difficulties. Villa will be hoping to stay in contention in the title race with a victory pulling them level on points with Manchester City in second - and leaving them just four points adrift of Arsenal.
This comes despite Emery offering a rather downbeat assessment following last week's defeat to Everton. He suggested that five teams possessed greater potential than Villa.
Emery said: "We are not contender to be in the top five. We are still not being contenders. There are other teams with more potential than us."
As for Liverpool, they suffered a late 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday evening. Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai found the net for Slot's side, but a 95th‑minute strike from Amine Adli sealed the win for the hosts.