Unai Emery ‘didn’t choose’ Harvey Elliott as Aston Villa warned Liverpool won’t budge

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Liverpool will not allow Aston Villa to renegotiate Harvey Elliott's loan due to the Champions League race.That is according to former Villa CEO Christian Purslow as the midfielder's struggles continue.5Elliott's Villa woes continue after the club were unable to renegotiate the deal with LiverpoolCredit: GettyElliott has made just four Premier League appearances for Unai Emery's side this season.It follows his season-long loan switch from Liverpool on deadline day in the summer.As part of the deal, Villa agreed to buy Elliott for £35million if he made 10 Premier League appearances.However, Emery has made it clear that clause will not be triggered.As a result, the 22-year-old has played just 13 minutes in the league since the end of September.Elliott has also struggled for playing time in European and cup competitions with the Europa League likely the only opportunity he will have to feature during the remainder of the campaign.Purslow has now shared his views on the saga during an appearance on talkSPORT's Sunday Edition.The 62-year-old joined Shaun Custis and Henry Winter to discuss why the two clubs had been able to re-hash the terms of the loan.He explained: "It seemed to me that once this situation started to kick in, Villa having a huge injury crisis very recently, that there was an obvious opportunity to re-cut the deal."Say, ‘how about we let the player play some more games, we’ll pay you a fee for that, just like if we were loaning the player’.5Former Villa CEO Purslow believes Liverpool are 'refusing to budge' due to the Champions League raceCredit: talkSPORT"But the non-negotiable for Villa would have been ‘we cannot buy the player in the summer’."Liverpool weren’t playing ball and they weren’t playing ball because of what is hanging over today’s fixtures, hanging over the last few weeks, which is the top five outcome."The stakes of Champions League qualification are so high, probably £90-100million of revenue next year in or out."Then frankly the £5-10million that you might lose if Harvey Elliott doesn’t kick a ball and bounces back in the summer is peanuts compared to whether Liverpool are fifth or Villa are fifth. So that’s why Liverpool aren’t playing ball."There’s one but, I noticed they’ve briefed out that the 10 games is Premier League games so I think there’s a decent chance we see Harvey Elliott playing in the Europa League."A, because Villa need him and b, because it won’t trigger the mandatory takeover.

I could be wrong but watch this space."5Emery has made it clear Elliott will not make the 10 league appearances required to make his loan permanentCredit: GettyVilla and Liverpool currently sit fourth and fifth in the Premier League, respectively.As it stands, England looks set to earn a fifth Champions League place for next season through the UEFA coefficient rankings.However, the Reds sit just three points clear of sixth place Chelsea with 10 matches of the season remaining.Purslow spent five years at Villa Park as CEO between 2018 and 2023.During that time, he oversaw promotion to the Premier League as well as appointing Emery as manager during his final season at the club.Asked why Emery did not want to sign Elliott, he added: "I am not on the inside on that decision. I did (work with Emery) and I follow the club extremely closely.5Monchi left his role with Villa in September just weeks after Elliott's signing was finalisedCredit: Getty"I couldn’t help but notice, I think 14 days after the summer window shut the sporting director, a man called Monchi, left the club.

It was a very, very difficult summer for Villa."Purslow continued: "It would seem to be the case (that Elliott was a Monchi signing), that Unai was saying ‘he wasn’t really my first choice’, or choice maybe at all."Monchi going, I thought, spoke very loudly about that and (it’s a) pity. I think the kid is the meat in the sandwich."I think it’s extremely unfortunate because I truly think he thought he would be joining Aston Villa on a permanent basis, it was just a delayed payment."We can call it what we like but that’s what it looked like to me so very unfortunate but there is no prospect right now when you look at that league table and how tight it is that Liverpool are going to cut Villa any slack."Monchi departed his role in September after just over two years at the club.5Emery could still play Elliott in the Europa League, with Villa returning to action this monthCredit: GettyHe had previously worked with Emery during his first spell as Sevilla's sporting director.As for Elliott, the Europa League could still offer him playing opportunities during his Villa loan stay.They face Lille in the last 16 later this month, with the winners facing Bologna or Roma in the quarter-finals.Elliott made two appearances during the league phase, including the full 90 minutes in their last match against RB Salzburg.