Harvey Elliott snubbed again as Arne Slot plays surprise role in beating Aston Villa

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Harvey Elliott was an unused substitute for the third game running as Aston Villa lost 2-1 to Go Ahead Eagles – a result which Arne Slot had a surprising role in. Villa took on Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles in their third game of the Europa League on Thursday night and Elliott was again named on the bench.

How Slot helped plot Villa’s defeat According to the Mail‘s Lewis Steele, Go Ahead Eagles head coach Melvin Boel made contact with Slot – who he worked alongside at Feyenoord – for advice ahead of their clash with Villa, and was provided with detailed analysis from Liverpool. Elliott’s treatment raises questions over whether the deal was a priority for either Emery or his club in the first place, or whether it was a matter of convenience given the favourable terms Liverpool offered to navigate Villa’s PSR issues.

If he were to have featured in every game since he joined Villa, Sunday’s home clash with Man City would have seen the 22-year-old reach 10 appearances and, according to reports around his transfer, trigger his permanent move. He scored Villa’s first goal of the season on his full debut against Brentford in the Carabao Cup, but was brought off at half-time in his only Premier League start against Fulham and hasn’t been involved since.