Harvey Elliott's loan spell at Valencia does not seem to be going to plan as the Englishman's side lost once again on Sunday to Real Sociedad
Harvey Daniel James Elliott of Valencia CF looks on during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between Valencia CF and FC Barcelona at Estadi de Mestalla
Harvey Elliott is not enjoying the best of loan spells at Valencia thus far(Image: Getty)
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Harvey Elliott will spend the international break in the La Liga relegation places with Valencia after their 3-2 defeat to Real Sociedad. And the media in Spain pulled no punches when assessing the Liverpool loanee's performance off the bench.
Elliott left Anfield on a year-long loan move in the summer after not making too much of an impression on new Reds boss Andoni Iraola. The 23-year-old was looking to put a torrid stint at Aston Villa behind him, but finds himself in dire straits once more.
Seven La Liga matches have been played and Valencia have picked up just four points, beating Alaves 1-0 and drawing at home to Celta Vigo in their home opener. They sit in 19th and have conceded 13 goals, three of which came against Sociedad at the Mestalla, where Elliott's team were agonisingly denied a draw in stoppage time.
But so far in the league, Elliott has yet to start a game and has played a grand total of 88 minutes. He only featured off the bench once more on Sunday and played just 22 minutes. The Spanish media were rather split in their ratings of his performance, but none gave him higher than a 5/10, with one publication branding him "out of shape."
AS
Reserve coach Oscar Sanchez has led Valencia in their last two matches after the sacking of manager Carlos Corberan. Mexican national team boss Javier Aguirre is now poised to take over with the club's La Liga status under threat.
Carlos Soler of Real Sociedad scores his team’s second goal from the penalty spot during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between Valencia CF and Real Sociedad at Estadi de Mestalla
Elliott's side are in the relegation places(Image: Getty)
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But, like Corberan, Sanchez did not deem Elliott worthy of a starting berth against Sociedad and AS was rather critical of the Englishman's physical condition after he came on in the 69th minute. It wrote: "Much more is expected of him. He's out of shape."
On the loss, it added: "Valencia is a team capable of deceiving itself. If anyone believed that their only problem was Corberan, if anyone considers that Aguirre's mission is anything other than securing survival, they should watch the first half again. They'll surely start doing some more mundane calculations."
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SPORT
Whilst Valencia walked away from Sunday's fixture empty-handed, that was not due to a lack of trying. Sociedad opened the scoring in the 26th minute through Luka Sucic, but young Aaron Mayol equalised just before the hour mark, scoring his first senior goal.
Former Valencia forward Carlos Soler then slotted away a 75th-minute penalty for the visitors. But that was cancelled out by a well-worked move from the home side as Sociedad's Luken Beitia put the ball into his own net six minutes from time.
Ander Barrenetxea of Real Sociedad celebrates a goal with teammates during the Spanish league, LaLiga EA Sports, football match played between Valencia CF and Real Sociedad at Mestalla stadium
Valencia conceded in added time and Sociedad left with all three points(Image: Getty)
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Yet in the first minute of stoppage time, Ander Barrenetxea made it 3-2 to Sociedad in cruel fashion before his team-mate Orri Oskarsson received a second yellow card as the game ended. Elliott saw less than half an hour of action for the beaten Valencia and was rated 5/10 by SPORT.
However, the rating didn't match the verdict, as the publication wrote: "Valencia put up a good fight against Sociedad, but came away empty-handed. Elliott tried from the moment he came on and he combined well with David Otorbi and looked faster than when he played against Barcelona and Sevilla."
Plaza Deportiva
Local outlet Plaza Deportiva was also somewhat complimentary of Elliott's brief cameo but like other publications, insisted that he needs to show more.
It rated Elliott a 5/10 as well and penned: "He needs to do more. But he showed a flash of brilliance and began to show glimpses of his technical skill.
Harvey Elliott attacking midfield of Valencia and England during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between Valencia CF and FC Barcelona at Estadi de Mestalla
Elliott has been playing sparingly(Image: Getty)
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"His team suffered a cruel defeat against Sociedad. A very tough loss for Sanchez's men, who deserved to take something from the match.
"With the score having been 2-2, the punishment was even more cruel. Even so, Valencia had a chance to equalise in the 93rd minute. Ultimately, another defeat this season and they head into the international break in the relegation zone."