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Harvey Elliott celebrates his winner for England U21 vs Netherlands U21 with Jonathan Rowe and Jarell Quansah(Image: Jeroen van den Berg/Soccrates/Getty Images)

Harvey Elliott shone for England's U21s with a stunning double that propelled them into the European Championship final, much to the delight of Jermain Defoe, who is convinced the Liverpool youngster should 'get out and play' after watching his heroics against the Netherlands.

Following a dazzling performance that included a late winner, Lee Carsley's squad can now aim to retain their title this weekend, having edged past the Dutch 2-1 in a thrilling encounter that had everyone on their feet in Bratislava.

Despite taking the summer tournament by storm, Elliott was mostly sidelined during Liverpool's quest for silverware with Arne Slot, sparking rumours of a big-money transfer for the 22-year-old midfield talent.



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Ex-England striker Defoe weighed in on the speculation post-game on Channel 4 [via the Mirror], clearly captivated by Elliott's tournament display: "There'll be a lot of clubs watching this tournament," he said.

"We said it before, he's too good to not be playing.

When you're producing in big tournaments like this against the best players, the two goals that we saw this evening, he's a top, top player.

"For him, he just needs to go out and play, get himself in a team where he's one of the main players, and just go out and express yourself and show how good you are because this performance tonight, it's amazing."

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Echoing similar sentiments on Channel 4’s analysis segment was Joe Cole, another former England star, who couldn't hide his admiration: "I love the lad," he said.

"I think he plays football the right way and I'm really excited for him.

Not just for this final, but I'm excited for his future as well, for next year.

"He's done a great job for Liverpool, and if he decides to move on, I still feel there's levels.

For a player to come to a tournament and do what he's done, there's levels for him to go up again, and I'd love to see him playing with that kind of passion and happiness on his face every week."

The Liverpool youngster has been in impressive form at the European Under-21 Championship and has reportedly caught the eye of several clubs, with Brighton and Wolves said to be interested in him.

However, Elliott's focus remains on Saturday's final.

Following their semi-final victory over the Netherlands, Elliott said: "I can't put it into words - another final.

"I know I keep saying it, but now we need to rest, recover and go again.