Harvey Elliott is nearing the end of his frustrating season on loan at Aston Villa, where he has barely featured due to a clause in the agreement with Liverpool
Harvey Elliott of Aston Villa
Harvey Elliott has barely played for Aston Villa during his loan spell(Image: Nigel French/Getty Images)
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Unai Emery has admitted that Harvey Elliott's wasted season on loan at Aston Villa is "embarrassing for everyone involved". Elliott has barely featured during his loan spell from Liverpool due to a clause in the agreement between the two clubs.
The 23-year-old midfielder moved to Villa Park in search of more regular game time, yet has only made nine appearances across all competitions for Villa this season. He has made four of those appearances in the Premier League, totalling just 109 minutes of action.
That is due to the fact that Villa would have to sign him permanently from Liverpool for £35million if he reached 10 league appearances. Back in February, Villa manager Emery accused Liverpool of "damaging" Elliott with the terms of the loan agreement.
Speaking ahead of their Premier League game against Liverpool on Friday night, Emery has now apologised to Elliott and spread the blame out. “It is something embarrassing for everyone involved in it. My apologies for Harvey Elliott are every day in my mind," he said.
“But it is the responsibility. We have our responsibility and Liverpool have their responsibility. As a human and as a person, how the season has gone has been difficult.”
Liverpool manager Arne Slot also addressed the subject in his pre-match press conference, in which he confirmed Elliott will return to the club over the summer for pre-season.
"I think for him, for everyone, it didn’t work out as he wanted it, as we wanted it and probably also how Villa wanted it, because you usually sign a player or bring him in on loan to use him," Slot said.
“That hasn’t happened a lot. That’s not for me to answer why that is. But of course, it’s never nice for a player not to make so many minutes, especially after the season he had with us, where he made – I assume – even more minutes with us than these 280.
Unai Emery
Unai Emery has spoken openly about Harvey Elliott's situation(Image: Getty Images)
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“He went over there to get more playing time, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. And for such a talented player that did so well in the U21 Euros [last summer], you want a player like that to get more and more playing time.
“He went to a very, very good team as well, where they also have a lot of good players. I don’t know why he hasn’t made the minutes he was expecting. That’s not for me to answer.
“But it’s always a pity if a player hardly plays for two years, let alone a player of that age that has shown during the [U21] Euros that he’s such a good player.”
Liverpool refused to recall Elliott in the January transfer window and it seems unlikely that they will change their mind over his future. The England under-21 star's Liverpool contract runs until June 2027, but a summer transfer appears on the cards once his Villa purgatory has ended.
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