Liverpool’s ‘stance’ on Harvey Elliott’s loan spell at Aston Villa has reportedly been revealed.
Elliott left Anfield on deadline day to join Villa on a season-long loan deal, with the Midlands club having an obligation to sign him permanently next summer.
It is reported that the obligation will only trigger if Elliott makes 10 appearances for his new club.
While at the time of the signing, it appeared that clause would be met fairly easily, the 22-year-old has only made five appearances so far.
He hadn’t played in any of Villa’s last five matches in all competitions prior to their Europa League clash against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday.
He was an unused substitute for three of those fixtures, before being left out of the squad entirely for Villa’s 1-0 win over Manchester City.
Elliott was ineligible to feature in Villa’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday, as Premier League rules prohibit loan players from playing against their parent club.
Speaking after the City victory, manager Unai Emery said he had left Elliott out of his squad as a ‘tactical decision’.
He explained: “He is training well, and he played some matches, but the performances were not what we needed.
“Some players are playing as a number 10, and they are playing well, like Buendia and Rogers, also Ross Barkley after he was out.
“In the squad today we needed to take one player out, and I decided for him. I am happy with him.”
According to former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown, Liverpool will be ‘concerned’ about Elliott’s current situation.
Brown, 83, never worked for Liverpool during his lengthy career but does have connections to former players, and he worked as assistant to Reds legend Phil Neal at Bolton Wanderers.
He told Football Insider: “He’s gone to Villa on loan with a view to that move becoming permanent, and that’s what Liverpool will have been expecting to happen, but now that might not be the case.
“There has been some talk that the manager is not happy with how he’s been playing and training … that’s going to be a massive concern, not just for Villa and the player, but for Liverpool as well.
“I think the issue he has is that he’s not a winger, but he’s not an out-and-out midfielder, so it’s difficult to fit him into a team. I don’t think Villa were the right club for him based on that.”
Elliott would spend a sixth consecutive game without playing on Thursday night, as Emery chose to leave him on the bench in their 2-0 win against Maccabi having used all five of his available substitutions before 75 minutes.