Harvey Elliott’s ongoing struggles at Aston Villa have captured the imagination of Liverpool supporters who have been desperate to see him return to Anfield.
The 22-year-old left the Reds for Villa in a hastily-arranged deadline day deal in September, one which has ultimately not worked out for any party.
The Villans agreed to an obligatory fee of £35m should Elliott play 10 games or more this season and, barring injury, that had appeared to make it virtually certain that he would leave Liverpool permanently.
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Things have not panned out that way, though, and with more than half of the season played, Elliott has featured only seven times for Villa. Consequently, very public wrangling has been ongoing between Liverpool and the Midlands club, as they attempt to re-negotiate the terms of Elliott’s loan.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has been clear from the beginning that he does not rate the England U21 star, and while that is his prerogative, he has now spoken out to suggest it is Liverpool’s reluctance to remove the obligation to buy clause which is actually harming his ability to play Elliott more regularly. That, unfortunately for Emery, is pure nonsense.
Unai Emery is to blame for Harvey Elliott’s struggles
From the moment Elliott signed for Villa it has been blatant that he was targeted by former sporting director Monchi, not Emery. The Basque clearly does not feel he is worth £35m and has essentially held Liverpool to ransom by not playing Elliott.
The Athletic cover Emery’s latest comments on the situation this weekend, and although he is desperately trying to paint Liverpool as the bad guys here, the truth is that it was his club who agreed to a deal and it is him personally who is blocking it from progressing.
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“Harvey, now I am opening the door to play with us, because he can help us,” Emery said. “But it’s not only on my side. The other side is Liverpool. If they are taking off the clauses, they have to play matches and to buy him compulsory. (I said to him) ‘You are going to play here with us, it’s a sport decision.’
“But now it’s a sport decision and a business decision. My sport decision is still there — ‘you are deserving to play, we need your qualities in the field, you are going to play’. But in this case, the clauses are still there and now it is Liverpool, they have the key. And I told him it will be fair for him for Liverpool to take off this clause.”
The reality is that Liverpool do not have the ‘key’ in this situation. The Reds have every right to ask that Villa honour the agreement they reached over the summer. Emery is hiding behind Liverpool when he could in fact simply play Elliott and bring this saga to an end.
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Elliott is Aston Villa’s problem to solve
Liverpool have been in discussion with Aston Villa over changing the terms of Elliott’s loan deal, but it seems that a new agreement is some way from being reached.
On the face of it, it may actually benefit the Reds to remove the clause, let Emery play Elliott freely and then bring him back in the summer. His transfer value could at least be retained for the upcoming summer window. The alternative is that he plays nine times for Villa and returns to Anfield having seen his potential fee slashed massively.
While they may still do that, there should be absolutely no blame attached to Liverpool for the way in which Elliott’s career has been allowed to stall this season. They got him a good move for a fair price which is being held up by Emery and his coaches.
If they don’t want to play him, fine, but as Arne Slot has regularly said, that is nothing to do with Liverpool.
Emery needs to start owning his decision, he is damaging a top young talent with an excellent attitude. Liverpool can still help, but they are not obligated to do so. Instead, if he’s searching for someone to blame, perhaps Mr Emery should start by looking in the mirror.
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