Sam Allardyce (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)placeholder image
Sam Allardyce (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Sam Allardyce and Tony Mowbray have discussed the situation of Liverpool attacking midfielder Harvey Elliott.
The attacking midfielder has been heavily linked with a departure from Anfield this summer. Elliott was a bit-part player as the Reds won the Premier League title last season. He did not start a league game en route to the silverware being claimed.
Despite having ability in abundance, Elliott has found it difficult to become a regular starter under head coach Arne Slot. Dominik Szoboszlai was preferred in the No.10 position last term, while the arrival of Florian Wirtz for a club-record fee of £100 million has pushed him further down the pecking order. In the opening three games of this term, Elliott has been a substitute.
Liverpool may be reluctant to sanction a sale of Elliott, though, after allowing Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez join Bayern Munich and Al-Hilal respectively. But Tony Mowbray, who was Elliott's manager during a highly fruitful loan spell at Blackburn Rovers in the 2020-21 season, suggested that the diminutive left-footer may need to depart his boyhood club.
What’s been said
Speaking on the podcast No Tippy Tappy Football, Mowbray said: “If I was going to advise Harvey, he needs to talk to his manager. It’s a waste of a talent sitting on the bench. He played a pass that eventually resulted in the team scoring the winner against Newcastle when he came on at the death.
“He’s an amazing talent, he’s got unbelievable quality. He doesn’t have to look at the ball, he knows what he’s doing. It’s part of him, the football. It’s so easy to him. He impacts the game every time he comes on for Liverpool. The problem for him is that his best position is off the right in the attacking area, and Mo Salah plays off the right there. There’s a huge elephant in the room for him, really.
“He might be thinking, how long is Salah going to stay, because he is Liverpool quality with the ball at his feet. He’s got a personality and a winning mentality, and it’s a big call for him with what’s next. The years start rolling by in your career. Maybe he’s waiting for Salah to move on.”
‘It’s too late now’
Former Newcastle United, West Ham, Sunderland and England boss Sam Allardyce also believes that it may be the right time for Elliott to leave Liverpool - although it is too late in the current window. Allardyce said: “He should know whether the manager fancies him or not. It’s not difficult. He needs to balance out how much he played under Jürgen Klopp and how much he will play now. That’s a tale in itself where you knock on the manager’s door, and don’t leave it to your agent.
“If the manager is not good enough to talk to you face-to-face and say, if the right club comes for you, we’ll move you on, because I can see you playing as a squad player, it’s his responsibility. If that’s good enough for him and he wants to stay at Liverpool, then fine.
“But if it’s not good enough, I think it’s too late now because it’s too close to the transfer deadline, but the games he is going to play between now and the next window will tell him whether he should be staying at Liverpool or leaving.”
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