Harvey Elliott is expected to leave Liverpool this summer. His price tag, however, just skyrocketed.
There's plenty of speculation surrounding Harvey Elliott's future at Liverpool. That's inevitable, of course, after a season in which Arne Slot barely used him.
Elliott started in the frame for a starting XI place but an early injury took him out of the squad. Slot then settled on certain players in certain positions, making it incredibly difficult for the midfielder to break into the side at a time when Liverpool were thriving on momentum.
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A few appearances at the end of the season did arrive but that wasn't much for such a talented player. One who Jürgen Klopp felt was performing as the 'best player' in the squad when he took his bow.
The writing was on the wall as far back as November, though. Elliott was going to struggle to get into the team and that was a blow.
Especially as Elliott is such an incredibly talented player. He's always brought something to the team and the underlying numbers are quite phenomenal - even if the sample size is smaller than it should be.
But we also saw him perform superbly for England Under 21s this summer as they won the European Championship. Elliott is a top player, just one who doesn't get to show it all that regularly.
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Harvey Elliott's price tag
So if Elliott is leaving this summer - and he probably has to if he wants to fulfil his potential - how much should he cost? We've seen £40m suggested as a potential fee.
Well, Thursday saw Nottingham Forest agree a £37.5m fee with Ipswich Town for Omari Hutchinson. That changes things.
Because Hutchinson is currently a Championship player who has never come close to showing Elliott's ability. There's less than a year between them in age and Hutchinson's best season - 14 goals and assists in the Championship at 20 - falls some way beneath Elliott's.
In fact, Elliott managed 18 goals and assists at 17 while with Blackburn Rovers. Perhaps more damning is the fact Liverpool's player equalled Hutchinson's assist tally last season.