While most Liverpool fans are focussed on new signings, primarily excited about Bradley Barcola's proposed £100 million+ move from Paris Saint-Germain, could Harvey Elliott be the archetypical like a new signing? The Englishman's career at Anfield appeared over when, on deadline day last summer, he joined Aston Villa on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy. Having just won Player of the Tournament at the under-21 Euros, scoring five goals as England retained the trophy in Slovakia, Elliott appeared poised to take a gigantic step forward in his career.
However, that certainly did not come to pass. In the agreement with Aston Villa, Elliott's move would be made permanent for £35 million once he made ten appearances for the Claret and Blue Army. Very quickly however, Unai Emery decided that is not how he wanted to allocate resources, for whatever reason. Thus, Elliott made, you guessed it, nine appearances for Villa, starting only three times, totalling a miserly 277 minutes of action.
Thus, this was a totally wasted campaign for the 23 year old, who is determined to make up for lost time. In an interview with Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail, Elliott discussed his miserable campaign in the Midlands:
"Mentally, it was a very tough one. [Joining Aston Villa] was a learning curve. It was an opportunity for me to experience something new. ‘I don't wish [this situation] upon any other player, because it's not nice at all... it was tough, mentally and physically. I'm on the other side of it now. "Harvey Elliott
Elliott adds that he has "no hard feelings... they treated me as one of their own and for that I respect them highly". He was also pleased he was to depart with a Europa League winners' medal, despite seeing just over an hour and a half of action in the competition, an unused substitute nine times.
Now though, back at his boyhood club, the 23 year old is determined to make an impression:
"It’s an incredible feeling [to be back]. Everyone knows how much I love the club and I've supported them from a very young age, so the feeling never goes of putting a shirt on, representing the club and doing your childhood dream. now I'm here. It's kind of a second chance, if you want to call it that. Especially with the gaffer coming in. It's another chance to impress."Harvey Elliott
He adds that he is eager to "cement my spot in the team or within the squad", adding that "since the first day I walked through the door... I had a big beaming smile on my face... I don't want to take these moments for granted". The concluding line of this interview from Elliott is "playing at Liverpool, there's no better feeling", so how much will he play this season?
Well, he has started both matches of pre-season so far as a number ten, replaced by Dominik Szoboszlai at half time of the win over Sunderland, before seeing just over an hour against Wrexham, taken off for James McConnell. Of course, now that Florian Wirtz is back following his World Cup break, the German will leapfrog Elliott in the pecking order for that position, but that is not to say he will be cast aside.
The Englishman's versatility is likely to be highly valued by Andoni Iraola. Elliott is capable of playing in midfield, as he has been doing in the USA, but also on the right-wing, where Liverpool currently have a void in their team. Following Mohamed Salah's departure, they are yet to find a replacement, with Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa, Rio Ngumoha and the incoming Barcola preferring to play on the left. Thus, don't be surprised if Elliott is a key figure this season, possibly even starting at St James' Park on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
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