Harvey Elliott looks set to be left in limbo with Aston Villa not willing to stick to the £35m agreement they struck with Liverpool last summer
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes and FSG's CEO of football Michael Edwards
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes and FSG's CEO of football Michael Edwards(Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
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You cannot help but feel for Harvey Elliott. After taking the gut-wrenching decision to leave his beloved Liverpool last summer after winning the Premier League title, his move to Aston Villa could not have gone much worse.
And it's nothing to do with his ability. When the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Player of the Tournament agreed to join Villa, it appeared his future was set to be away from Merseyside permanently.
While the deal the Midlands outfit struck with Liverpool saw them sign Elliott on an initial season-long loan, it included an obligation to buy him for £35m once he reached 10 appearances.
The midfielder looked poised to achieve that when he had made five by the first week of October. However, he then was discarded by manager Unai Emery until recent weeks, playing the full 90 minutes of Villa's Europa League 3-2 win at home to Red Bull Salzburg before coming off the bench in their 1-0 Premier League loss at home to Brentford.
Elliott then failed to make the matchday squad for the 1-1 Premier League draw at Bournemouth last time out with Emery imploring before that game for the Reds to remove the obligation to buy clause in order not to 'damage' the player.
He said: “I spoke with him. We have been fair because there are two ways: one way is a sport, the second is business. We'll be fair in case, because we are trying it, and I told him, we are opening the door to play with us, because he can help us.
“But it's not only in my way and on my side. The other side is Liverpool. If they take off the clauses to play matches and for us to buy him, (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 case the clauses are still there, now it is Liverpool - they have the key. And I told him, it will be fair for him in case Liverpool take off this clause.
"We are speaking about it (taking off the clause) but not (just) now. We started speaking about it three months ago. Of course, the transfer window 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 patient. 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 respecting the decision and taking the sporting decision responsibly from my side.
“It can change for him, in case Liverpool take off this clause. If they don't want to, okay, but the player is getting damaged.”
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 29: Harvey Elliott of Aston Villa during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD8 match between Aston Villa FC and FC Salzburg at Villa Park on January 29, 2026 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Harvey Elliott during the Europa League match between Aston Villa and Salzburg at Villa Park on January 29, 2026(Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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It leaves the prospect of Elliott making a maximum of two more appearances for Villa this season before being left in limbo.
The 22-year-old was unable to join another club in January because he had already featured for Liverpool at the start of the current campaign. FIFA rules state that a player may be registered with three clubs in one season but may only play for two.
Now former Liverpool managing director and Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow has waded into the mess. Speaking on the Football Boardroom podcast, he said: “The deal that was done, maybe by (former Villa transfer chief) Monchi and not by Unai Emery, has a perverse incentive for Unai not to pick the footballer.
“That is utterly and completely dysfunctional. Nobody benefits. Common sense would suggest compromise is required. You have a quiet word with the two sides and try to get them together.
“Unai needs to get together with the key player on the Liverpool side. This is Michael Edwards level - he is the CEO of football. He believed he had sold Harvey Elliott on a deferred transfer and it hasn't worked out.
“Unai and Michael in a room. Unai would say: 'He's not going to play because we do not want to buy him'. If I were Unai, I would say: 'If I didn't have this contract hanging over my head, there is a really good chance Harvey would get plenty of football between now and the summer'.
“I believe that if the three parties all agree, they could modify the agreement. Liverpool have plugged into their financial models that they will receive a transfer fee for Harvey next summer but he is not going to be bought by Villa.
“If I were Michael Edwards, I would think that if he gets more minutes at Villa between now and the end of the season, his value will be maintained higher. But if he doesn't play football for a purely contractual reason for the next four months, everyone loses.”
Meanwhile, another ex-Villa CEO, Keith Wyness, who occupied the same role for Everton between 2004 and 2009, has also had his say on the situation.
He believes his old club should try to cut a deal with the Reds. Speaking on Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness said: "They’re very tight on budget, so it’s going to have to be something like £15m or £20m they might be able to accept, and you know they’ll be allowed to play him more than the 10 games this season, so I think he’s at seven or eight, but anyway that’s the sort of negotiation I think that will happen, and I think it could work out for both teams.
"I don’t think that he’d be at £35m anyway if he came back to Liverpool or was free in the summer. I don’t think Liverpool are going to get the £35m for him. So I think they’re better off seeing if they can get something done with Villa right now.
“So that’s the dynamics at play, and I’d hope it can get resolved. I think for both groups and for the player himself, I think that makes sense. But he’s got Douglas Luiz now back at Villa as well, who’s a very good player from the inside out. So there’s competition in that midfield for Unai Emery.
“They’re still in Europe. So look, I hope it gets resolved, but that’s the way I would see it happening if it’s going to get resolved.”