Harvey Elliott scored his first competitive goal in 420 days - but has been told he has five games to prove his career is back on track.
The Liverpool loanee - who was starting his first match since January - netted a free-kick in a 6-0 victory over UE Tavernes de la Valldigna.
5Alejandro Rego of Athletic Club competes for the ball with Harvey Elliott of Valencia CF during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between Valencia CF and Athletic Club at Estadi de Mestalla on October 17, 2026 in Valencia, Spain
It was the 23-year-old's first appearance for Valencia since his red card during the 2-1 La Liga defeat to Villarreal last month.
Javier Aguirre, who was Mexico's World Cup coach before his appointment as Valencia boss in September, has since revealed that the England youth international apologised for being sent off.
Harvey Elliott scores first Valencia goal
Elliott has played just seven times since his arrival in Spain, but is already only 42 minutes shy of his total game time last campaign.
During the summer of 2025, the playmaker was named player of the tournament as England Under-21s defended their Euro U21 title.
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He joined Aston Villa on an initial loan with a £35million obligation to buy once he made ten Premier League appearances.
However, Unai Emery announced publicly that his side had no interest in signing him from Liverpool permanently.
Villa's stance meant that Elliott played just 13 Premier League minutes from the end of September until the end of his loan.
His subsequent teething issues at Valencia were then compounded by him being sent off on what was only his sixth cameo outing.
Elliott's goal in round one of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday was his first since his full debut for Villa in the Carabao Cup over a year ago.
5Elliott is yet to start a league match for his new club after joining on loan for the season
Elliott given five-game deadline
According to reports in Spain, Valencia are giving Elliott five games before the winter break to prove he can help them avoid relegation.
Due to the former Fulham academy talent's high wages, 'Los Che' will try to end his loan in January if he fails to make an impact.
On Elliott's situation, European football expert Andy Brassell told talkSPORT: "I think you have to play like you're staying at Valencia.
"Maybe a better offer comes up in January, and maybe the club and player decide that it's the right time to part ways.
"But at the moment, Harvey Elliott is in a weird situation because he is a player with really great ability.
"He can be a very influential player on his day, but for reasons not entirely within his control, he's just not had a lot of football.
"Obviously, everyone knows about the situation that he had at Villa. That wasn't really his fault.
5Elliott was heavily involved in pre-season for Liverpool, but he played no part once the season started
"I always wondered whether Valencia was the right choice for a couple of reasons, really. The main one being they're not good, and it's a club that hasn't been very well run.
"Obviously, we've got the takeover happening at the moment that moved the new Mestalla at the end of the season.
"Hopefully, that means better times for Valencia. Maybe they decide, well, we're going to get different players in.
"Because at the moment, we're in a position that Elliott wouldn't have been used to at Liverpool - battling to stay in the league.
"They've got one of the worst teams in the league because the club has been shambolically run in recent years. There are some players of quality there, which he is one of.
"But he's come off the back of a year where he hasn't played. Adapting to a new league as well.
5Elliott was part of the Aston Villa squad that won the Europa League, but due to a clause in his contract, he barely played
"And he had a limited pre-season. I don't know what people can reasonably expect of him, to be perfectly honest."
Case of mutual desperation
Valencia, who finished ninth last season, are currently languishing in the relegation zone after just two wins in 12 LaLiga fixtures.
Brassell added: "I think there probably is a sense of, maybe we need to start all over again in January because of the position they're in.
"But look, they've got a player of the sort of ability that they couldn't have reasonably hoped to attract during the summer.
"And the reason it happened is that Valencia were desperate and Elliott was desperate.
"It was mutual desperation, I suppose, that drove them together towards the end of the window.
5Elliott has been told he cannot afford another season without regular first-team action
"At his best, there's no way they're getting a player like him.
"So, I think for them to turn their back on a player who could be really good for them, who can be a leader, who can drive a team forward, I think would be a real mistake.
"Now, obviously, they might be trying to head in a different direction and maybe that changes.
"I think the other thing you've got to ask from a Harvey Elliott perspective, if you think you're going to be marginalised in the second half of the season and you can go to a club that's a bit better run, that's a bit more sane, not knowing how long it will take the takeover to be fully consummated, I think in his position, you're probably thinking after the season he's just had up at Villa, have I got time to waste? No.
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"So, I think there are questions that have to be asked on either side. But I think there's definitely something to be said for him staying there and persevering.
"There are still two months until we get to the transfer window... it's not like he doesn't need the reps in the meantime, and it's not like they don't need good players."