Having endured a wasted season at Aston Villa, Harvey Elliott chose Valencia as his next loan destination from Liverpool but things are already off to a bad start
Harvey Elliott of Valencia CF
Harvey Elliott's time at Valencia has started badly(Image: Manuel Queimadelos/Getty Images)
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"My goal is to regain my self-confidence, play freely and enjoy my football."
Harvey Elliott's stated objective at his unveiling as a Valencia player told the story of a player looking for a fresh start. After a miserable season on loan with Aston Villa, Elliott headed to Spain this summer believing he'd made the perfect choice this time around.
Having made just nine appearances and been given the cold shoulder by Unai Emery at Villa, who didn't play him in order to avoid triggering a £35million obligation to buy clause, and been told he didn't feature in Andoni Iraola's plans at Liverpool, Elliott found a new home - and a manager who did want him.
"I had a few calls with Carlos Corberan, in which we talked about my objectives and what he expected of me as a player," he explained of his loan move at the start of September. "The start of the season has been tricky, but there’s still a long way to go.”
Elliott must be wondering what he did to be landed with such rotten luck after Corberan was sacked just 10 days after his comments. Valencia entered the international break 19th in La Liga and in turmoil after losing five of their opening seven matches.
Their Liverpool loanee has featured just three times, with all of his appearances coming off the bench and totalling 88 minutes. Already the pressure is ramping up.
Valencia are paying the majority of his wages - which reportedly make him the team's third-highest earner - and so far the 23-year-old midfielder is not living up to his billing. Spanish newspaper Marca reports that he is well above his ‘optimal playing weight’ and has been told in no uncertain terms to improve his fitness during the international break.
Harvey Elliott attacking midfield of Valencia
Harvey Elliott's fitness has been questioned at Valencia(Image: Jose Breton/Getty Images)
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Elliott's Instagram account, where he boasts 2.2m followers, shows a player trying to project an image of calm and focus. "See you after the break Valencianistas! We will continue to work and come back better, Thank you for your support," he posted on Monday before then sharing pictures from training on Wednesday.
As well as winning over the Valencia faithful, Elliott now has a new boss to impress after the club appointed ex-Mexico manager Javier Aguirre to replace Corberan. Like Elliott, Aguirre is only contracted until the end of the season and will therefore waste no time in making decisions.
It is easy to forget, given he made his Liverpool debut aged 16, but Elliott is still in the early stages of his career. He has 149 appearances, 15 goals and 21 assists to his name for Liverpool, where he remains under contract until June 2028.
All is not lost. Despite shunning him, Emery was complimentary of Elliott. "He’s a very good person and player and deserves the best," the Villa boss said in January.
Perhaps being at a struggling club where his services are not discarded but instead desperately needed will prove to be the re-making of him.
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