Inside Harvey Elliott’s Aston Villa nightmare - and the Liverpool clause leaving him trapped

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I think only once or twice and that was before he played Feyenoord away and after he played Feyenoord away, but that had more to do with that he played against a former club of mine."So no, I haven't been speaking to him. I knew how difficult it already was for him over here, so I think I know how he feels at this moment.

But you should ask those questions at Villa and not over here when it's about his playing time over there."READ MORE: Curtis Jones makes Liverpool dressing room feelings on Arne Slot clear before more Mohamed Salah talksREAD MORE: Thierry Henry delivers Mohamed Salah verdict after bombshell interview - 'I've done it'Villans boss Emery himself exacerbated the issue further from Liverpool's perspective on Wednesday evening when he revealed that there was little prospect of the player securing a permanent move to Villa Park following his deadline-day switch on loan."We are speaking with him and about his situation," Emery said. I respect him as a player and as a person."He is training well, but we have one circumstance with him.

He is on loan playing with us, but he is not definitely adding to us with a permanent contract.”Elliott has found it tough to establish himself at Villa since his short-term switch. The two clubs agreed a fee of £35m with both buy-back and sell-on clauses negotiated into the terms that were struck on September 1.RB Leipzig were keen on the 22-year-old and West Ham United had also shown an interest earlier in the window but Liverpool, having nurtured Elliott since a 16-year-old after signing him from Fulham in the summer of 2019, ensured a buy-back clause were in the terms.His "enormous potential" meant the Reds were keen to have the option to bring him back if he went on to show the kind of consistent quality they feel he is capable of.But a few months into his time in Birmingham and Elliott sees himself out in the cold, unable to break through amid the mass of attacking midfielders at Villa Park.Emery has preferred the likes of Morgan Rogers, Ross Barkley and Emi Buendia across the course of the campaign to date and there is an acceptance that the decision to sign Elliott in the closing hours of the window was driven by former sporting director Monchi, who left Villa just weeks later.Emery, it is believed by those close to Villa, feels Elliott has yet to adapt to the demands placed on him and with the club still trying to avoid the pitfalls of the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Regulations, triggering a £35m fee for someone who isn't in the plans would be a foolish move.Elliott needs to make 10 appearances for the deal to be made permanent but he is at just five so far as we approach the mid-December mark.With Villa obligated to complete the transfer if he doubles his tally in the second half of the campaign, it's difficult to envision anything more than further stagnation in the early months of 2026 for a player who, it must be remembered, was part of a Premier League-winning squad just a few months ago.A foot injury in the early weeks of the Slot era did a lot of damage to Elliott's status in the squad.Initially detected while on England duty in September of last year, the problem kept him sidelined for around two months and by the time he returned - as a second-half substitute in a 2-0 win over Manchester City at Anfield on December 1 - Liverpool were firmly entrenched in their title push and the head coach had established his go-to midfield of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, with Curtis Jones often the first reserve.Elliott, in fact, didn't start a Premier League game until after the 20th title had been secured and while his wish was always to make the grade as a first-team star at Anfield, the difficult decision was taken to leave after seeing a number of attacking additions brought in across the window at an eye-watering cost."I loved every minute of it; every second, every day," he said when leaving Liverpool.