Liverpool Champions League theory emerges amid Harvey Elliott dilemma

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Echo or go back to LFC Live.

Liverpool have been told why Champions league qualification may have played a role in Harvey Elliott's future this season during his Aston Villa loanFormer Liverpool managing director and Aston Villa CEO Christian Purslow has shared his assessment of why negotiations over Harvey Elliott broke down in January.It recently emerged that Elliott's loan spell at Villa Park would convert to a permanent transfer if he features in ten league matches. It has been stated, though, that the aforementioned clause only relates to Premier League games, allowing him to feature as frequently as Emery desires in European competition.Emery confirmed that discussions had taken place about restructuring the agreement to remove the obligation to buy clause in Elliott's loan deal.READ MORE: Florian Wirtz 'flop' verdict sees his manager respond with ideal outcome for LiverpoolREAD MORE: Michael Edwards regretted Liverpool transfer all scouts in Europe wanted to makeHowever, those talks proved unsuccessful, and Purslow has suggested a potential reason, with Liverpool presently competing against Aston Villa for a top-five finish which could secure Champions League qualification.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE!

All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page."There was an obvious opportunity to recut the deal, but the non-negotiable for Villa would have been ‘We cannot buy the player in the summer’," Purslow stated on talkSPORT."Liverpool weren’t playing ball. That’s why Liverpool aren’t playing ball."There is one ‘but’.

I’ve noticed they’ve briefed out that the 10 games [needed to trigger Elliott’s buy clause] is Premier League games, so I think there’s a decent chance we see Harvey Elliott playing in the Europa League."Had Liverpool renegotiated the deal's terms to allow Elliott to feature in any number of matches for Aston Villa without triggering the summer purchase obligation, he may have gone on to play a role in preventing the Reds from qualifying for the Champions League.Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.Follow us on Twitter @‌LivEchoLFC - the official Liverpool ECHO LFC Twitter account - for all the latest LFC news as it happens in real time.We're also on Facebook/LiverpoolEchoLFC - your must-see LFC news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.Listen to our podcasts by searching for 'Blood Red' wherever you get your podcasts.Sign up for one of the Liverpool Echo's free daily and weekly newsletters on Liverpool FC by clicking here.