It was a surprise to see Harvey Elliott start for Aston Villa on Thursday night
Harvey Elliott of Aston Villa
Harvey Elliott of Aston Villa(Image: Getty Images)
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Aston Villa loanee Harvey Elliott started his first match in 123 days on Thursday night.
Elliott has endured a torrid spell at Villa Park after Unai Emery decided he did not want the club to pay £35 million to sign him permanently earlier this season.
Indeed, Villa would be obligated to pay that fee to Liverpool should the playmaker make 10 appearances for the club.
After playing the full 90 minutes against Salzburg, Elliott has now featured in six matches for Villa, leaving him just four appearances short of triggering the permanent transfer.
On Instagram, Elliott posted after Villa’s 3-2 win with the caption: “I’ve missed that! Thank you for your incredible support tonight… great win to top it off!”
Tyrone Mings cheekily replied with a GIF of Ian Wright from the well-known clip in which he reunites with his childhood teacher, Mr Sydney Pigden, at Highbury Stadium. Shocked to see him, Wright removes his hat in respect and exclaims, “Mr Pigden, I thought you were dead,” before breaking down in tears.
Elliott then responded to Mings’ reply with: “ahahahahaha there it is!! * off,” before adding: “good goal bro.”
Many were surprised to see Elliott start for Villa on Thursday night, though he had already been reintegrated into the matchday squad after remaining on the bench against Newcastle United last Sunday.
It begs the question: why now?
The most obvious explanation is Villa’s ongoing midfield injury crisis. Boubacar Kamara is sidelined for the season, but more significantly for Elliott’s situation, both John McGinn and Youri Tielemans are expected to be out for at least two months.
Donyell Malen was also allowed to leave the club earlier this month, while Evann Guessand was omitted from the squad to face Salzburg as he closes in on a move to Crystal Palace on an initial loan.
This left Emery with very limited options on Thursday night. In a match Villa wanted to win - but crucially without risking further injuries - Elliott’s inclusion appeared to be driven purely by necessity.
However, following his return from the cold, there have been suggestions that Villa may have agreed with Liverpool to remove the obligation to buy Elliott.
Emery, though, poured cold water on that theory both before and after Villa’s 3–2 victory over Salzburg.
“Still there are five days to finish the window. Everything we said before, only injuries can change it, like Luiz is a player joining us because of central midfield injuries," Emery said in Wednesday’s press conference.
“With Harvey, it is not changing. We have our idea. I spoke with Harvey clearly. I said before that he is a fantastic guy.
“He was on the bench against Newcastle on Sunday and was there if we needed help from him, he was ready to play.
“Tomorrow he is in the squad as well. He is involved in the squad tomorrow, but it is not changing the situation he has now.”
Then, in his post-match media briefing, Emery explained: “It is not changing. I told you yesterday that his situation is not changing. It is fantastic how he is helping us, but it is not changing our idea with him.”
On the face of it, removing the obligation-to-buy clause would surely be beneficial for all parties. It would allow Villa to field Elliott without any strings attached, enabling the player to continue his development and maintain match fitness, while giving Villa a quality option going forward.
Liverpool, meanwhile, would be able to welcome Elliott back after roughly half a season of regular football, allowing him to showcase his talent before potentially securing a permanent move elsewhere for a higher fee than might otherwise be possible.
A potential stumbling block, however, is that Liverpool are currently chasing Villa in the league table and may be reluctant to strengthen Emery’s options in the final third during the run-in.