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Harvey Elliott has cut a frustrated figure of late, could a no-brainer swap deal free the Liverpool playmaker?
Liverpool still have a few loose ends to tie up over the remaining hours of the transfer window with Marc Guehi a close second on Arne Slot’s shopping list.
Crystal Palace are looking to sign Manuel Akanji which would allow Richard Hughes to make his move, however, until Oliver Glasner has a replacement, he would be unlikely to ok any exit for his captain even if he does just have a year left on his contract. What might work in the Reds recruitment boss’ favour though, is that Palace’s demotion to the Europa Conference League rather than the Europa League will cost them a sizeable amount of money to the extent that they might not want to lose a valuable asset for free.
The swap deal Liverpool could make to land Marc Guehi
What might soften the blow, is if Liverpool offer the sort of deal that would solve another big problem for Palace, the departure of Eberechi Eze and their talisman in the final third. With the Eagles linked with Harvey Elliott and the England Under-21 international set to depart Anfield, a creative swap deal could be the perfect solution for both parties – if Palace can seal the Akanji transfer.
Speaking towards the end of last season, Elliott grew increasingly frustrated with his lack of game time and, in an interview with the Liverpool Echo, it became clear that he was beginning to see his future elsewhere if things didn’t change: “I hope that I can push on. This is my team, I am committed to them. It’s just a situation that is always going to have a lot of talk, I just need to think about what is best for my future, my career and as much as I want it to be here. Players go through ups and downs but at the end of the day you have to come out fighting and I think it is within myself to make it happen. So hopefully I can stay here for the rest of my career.”
Has Elliott fulfilled his potential at Liverpool?
It’s not fair to say that Elliott hasn’t fulfilled his potential, after all, he has 149 appearances for Liverpool and was player of the tournament at the Under-21 European Championships. He’s just unfortunate that there are better players ahead of him and a club record transfer fee has been paid for Florian Wirtz to push him further down the pecking order. Just seven minutes of action this season highlights where he stands.
When he first broke through into Fulham’s first team, Danny Murphy predicted big things for the then 16-year old: “They always have the option to send him out loan [this season] but I’ve got a feeling they really must think he is ahead of his time,” Murphy told talkSPORT in 2019 via Planet Football. “It might not transpire this summer, but in the next couple of season I would imagine they’re hoping he develops to get some first-team action.”
He continued: “He’s a great dribbler, he’s very sharp and he’s got good feet. He could play in one of those front three roles, that’s probably where we’d see him get his go. We’ll probably see him in a cup competition this season. I think this kid could be a superstar and if he has got the talent to do it, he’s at the right place.” Elliott might well become the superstar that many tipped him to be, but it doesn’t look like it will be at Liverpool.
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