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There has been a lot of chatter around the future of Liverpool youngster Harvey Elliott, with reports suggesting he’s likely to leave, but stats and fan opinions suggest otherwise.

Elliott, one of the most-promising Merseyside talents, stands at the crossroads of his career this summer as his next step becomes decisive for both his and the club’s future.

The English midfielder burst onto the scene under Jurgen Klopp’s management and quickly solidified his position in the senior Reds team as a squad player, coming off the bench in crucial matches and starting the matches of lesser concern.

However, since Arne Slot took charge of the Anfield giants, the youngster’s appearances have taken a hit.

Elliott, in LFC’s PL-winning campaign, made 28 appearances across all competitions, starting only six, spending 822 minutes on the pitch.

His performances in the U21 European Championship have been even more appreciative as the England U21 international has scored five goals in the competition’s six games, the Young Lions have played.

The Liverpool star scored the two goals in the semi-final against the Netherlands U21 side to put his team through to the final, where he opened the scoring against Germany U21.

His contribution was felt more than ever as the defending Euro U21 champions lifted the trophy once again.

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Despite the lack of game time, the 22-year-old scored five goals and assisted three times, with many awe-inspiring moments, most notably the UCL screamer scored in the last minutes at Parc des Princes against PSG (stats via Transfermarkt).

While being compared with the PL players of his age group who have a similar playstyle, it can really be seen that limited chances have not limited his capabilities.

The table below shows how Anfield’s very own ‘Duracell Bunny’ has performed in the PL in comparison with Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, Fulham’s Emile Smith Rowe and Brentford’s Fabio Carvalho (stats via multiple sources):

MetricHarvey ElliottCole PalmerMorgan RogersEmile Smith RoweFabio CarvalhoAge2223222322Total Apps (Starts)18 (1)37 (36)37 (37)34 (25)19 (3)Minutes360?3,199?3,131?2,061?447?Goals + Assists (Total)3231893G+A per 900.760.650.520.390.61Key Passes / 901.722.521.401.351.10xA / 900.390.340.220.180.24Shot-Creating Actions / 903.84.73.22.92.6Passing Accuracy (%)84.986.283.585.182.7

In most aspects, Elliott has excelled ahead of his peers, displaying his offensive qualities.

So, calibre and creativity are never the things that hold him back; it is the lack of opportunity that limits him.

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As the PL champions have signed the German wonderkid Florian Wirtz this summer, with Dominik Szoboszlai already available for the attacking midfield role for the 4-2-3-1 formation Slot uses.

Elliott would have a tough time fighting for the No.

10 spot, and realistically, would get a minimal chance to feature.

So, the next logical place where he would fit in is as the immediate subordinate of Mohamed Salah at the right-wing position.

Even then, that would not be enough for the 22-year-old player who is still in his development phase, as he needs more game time to improve.

Now, the question of whether to retain him or to sell him arises.

Tricia, a Red, suggested, “There is no way Elliott should be sold by Liverpool.

We’ve learned with Trent Alexander-Arnold that is worth a lot!”

Another Kopite, Brian, said, “If Harvey wasn’t a Liverpool player already we’d be looking to buy him.

In such a situation, the most sensible move would be to loan him to a club that plays Champions League football, so that he can garner UCL experience, similar to what the club did with Viteslav Jaros’ Ajax move.

Alternatively, the Merseysiders can sell him now to offload the wage bill, but with a buy-back option in the contract, so that they get the advantage of signing him again whenever needed, similar to what they did with Jarell Quansah’s Bayer Leverkusen move.

Richard Hughes and his entourage have been pretty clever with all the businesses this summer and it can be expected that they will do the same with the case of Harvey Elliott, which benefits both the player and Liverpool.

ALSO READ: Liverpool face rejection from player with growing concern over free transfer


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