Arne Slot may have accidentally guaranteed that Harvey Elliott will be back at Liverpool in 2026 - opinion

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Harvey Elliott looks virtually certain to leave Aston Villa in January having barely played since his move from Liverpool.Villa had signed the 22-year-old on a loan with obligation to buy on transfer deadline day, an agreement that would reportedly be triggered after Elliott’s 10th appearance.However, in a somewhat bizarre turn of events, Unai Emery has bombed the Liverpool loanee out of his squad, playing him only five times.Join our newsletter for news & smart analysis. Hopefully, we can get the best for him and the best for us.”While that sounds ominous for his chances of securing a permanent contract at Villa Park, Arne Slot accidentally guaranteed that should Elliott return to Anfield in January, he will not be able to join another club either.Harvey Elliott cannot play for a third team this seasonElliott has had an incredibly frustrating 18 months having first seen his playing time decrease at Liverpool and then being frozen out completely at Villa.The youngster is a boyhood Liverpool fan, and it must have been a real wrench for him to leave the Reds having foreseen a long career at Anfield for himself.Photo by Michael Regan/Getty ImagesREAD MORE: What Mohamed Salah did as he walked into training following his Liverpool interviewInterestingly, though, the man who effectively ended his career with the Reds, Slot, has given Elliott a massive lifeline for an unlikely resurrection.As The Athletic report, Elliott has already played competitively for Liverpool and Villa this season.

Instead, the Liverpool head coach may have inadvertently kept his Anfield career alive. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say Liverpool must bring Elliott homeGiven his passion for the club and his honest, hard-working approach to the game, Elliott quickly developed into a real fan favourite at Anfield.Clearly, he wanted more game time and a move last summer became inevitable.

However, for whatever reason it simply has not gone Elliott’s way.Slot may not be the England U21 star’s biggest fan, but his return could give a morale boost to the Liverpool squad while also giving the Dutchman another quality option.As he cannot move elsewhere – and Villa seem desperately unlikely to trigger his buy clause anyway – Liverpool have nothing to lose in bringing Elliott back and using him during the second half of the campaign.Faced with one last chance at saving his Liverpool career, the former Fulham youngster will give it everything to show the Reds he should not be let go of again. Slot had looked responsible for ending a promising future for Elliott at Anfield, but he may also have accidentally kept it alive.