Liverpool transfer agreement fails to be reached as £35m problem emerges
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The ECHO's Liverpool writers assess Harvey Elliott's current predicament and analyse the merits of a potential return to AnfieldOver two months into his new career at Aston Villa and things are yet to go to plan for Harvey Elliott. The 22-year-old has made just four Premier League appearances so far, three of them as a substitute, with his last outing coming in the Europa League win at Feyenoord on October 2, and there is talk in Villa circles that the attacking midfielder was signed by now former sporting director Monchi rather than head coach Unai Emery.READ MORE: Alexander Isak's situation remains unchanged as Graham Potter gives updateREAD MORE: Liverpool miss one player more than anyone else - it's too early for major summer transfer“He is training well, and he played some matches, but the performances weren’t what we needed," Emery said when asked why Elliott wasn't in the squad for the 1-0 win over Manchester City earlier this month."Some players are playing as a No.10, and they are playing well, like (Emi) Buendia and (Morgan) Rogers.
(It is) Only a tactical decision.”Here, our ECHO writers assess if there might be a way back for Elliott - should he fail to hit the reported 10-game milestone that would make the move to Villa a permanent one.Paul GorstLiverpool have no plans to cancel Harvey Elliott's loan and his hurried move on transfer deadline day was effectively, in the eyes of the club's key decision makers at least, the end of his time as a Reds player.But with the 22-year-old struggling to make the grade at Aston Villa there's a real chance that he doesn't reach the reported 10 appearances needed to make the transfer permanent. Emi Buendia has rekindled his career in Birmingham and Ross Barkley is also back in the reckoning.It's difficult to see where Elliott fits in there.
The same, though, is true at Anfield, where Slot is attempting to move beyond a desperate run of seven defeats in 10 right now.Florian Wirtz, at £116m, is the future of the No.10 role at Liverpool and Elliott's days at Anfield are all but officially over.Stephen KillenThis was Harvey Elliott's opportunity to really assert himself as a Premier League regular and stake his claim for a late surge into the England squad for the forthcoming World Cup.But it hasn't gone too smoothly with reports suggesting that he has been frozen out, leaving both Aston Villa and Liverpool with a decision to make.It has been suggested that if he doesn't play 10 games, the clause to make his move permanent will not be triggered, and he would return to Arne Slot's side.Should it come to that point, he will be forced to either fight for a place in an already competitive starting XI or be sold. Without his glut of goals, Liverpool's form has suffered this season.Elliott made his name as the England Under-21s' hero in back-to-back European Championship triumphs, and he played his best football on the right wing, claiming the Player of the Tournament last summer.A bona-fide bargain right-wing option and an understudy to Salah is already beneath the noses of Liverpool's recruitment chiefs, especially in an extortionate transfer market.Slot already knows what he can do from the right, he only has to cast his mind to that Champions League first-leg against Paris Saint-Germain.