Image Credits: Imago Images
Harvey Elliott is a man in a difficult situation.
In and out of the team, he did impress whenever called upon during his time at Liverpool.
However, last summer, amidst an eventful one for the Reds, Elliott felt he was best suited elsewhere, where he could pick up the regular gametime he desired.
Aston Villa came calling, and the 22-year-old departed Merseyside for Birmingham, signing on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy for £35million.
The clause would be activated if Harvey Elliott made 10 appearances for Aston Villa this season.
That now appears to be at the centre of Harvey Elliott’s current problems.
Aston Villa have appeared very unwilling, even from the start of the season, to grant Elliott those ten appearances.
Regularly spending his time on the bench or not even in the squad, tensions are now rising as Unai Emery’s patience appears to be running thin.
Despite this, Harvey Elliott has picked up two appearances in recent times, but it has taken an injury crisis in midfield to open up a door for the loanee.
With that being said, the Aston Villa manager is still not keen on the idea of taking Harvey Elliott on permanently.
He has now outlined what he feels is the best move forward and has demanded Liverpool to remove the obligation to buy clause from the deal.
He said: “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 case, the clauses are still there and now it is Liverpool- that is the key.”
“We are speaking about it [taking off the clause] but not now. We started speaking about it three months ago. Of course, the transfer window was finished on Monday.”
“It will be fair for him, because he’s a calm guy, good guy, and he’s a fantastic professional. And then his qualities are there.”
“Of course he must play, and he’s really being passionate and I know we are damaging him, because we got a deal with Liverpool in the summer and the deal is there, and we are taking the decision responsibly from my side.”
“It can change for him, in case Liverpool take off this clause – if they don’t want to, okay.”
To hear Emery admitting that they had already decided they didn’t want to buy him three months ago will feel like a setback for Harvey Elliott.
It remains to be seen whether Liverpool now act on this, but this is a situation for the loanee that is far from ideal and he will want it sorted out sooner rather than later.
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