How Arne Slot’s stay at Liverpool would impact Harvey Elliott future
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from DaveOCKOP or go back to LFC Live.
Harvey Elliott is set to return to Liverpool for pre-season ahead of the 2026-27 season. Victory for either side would secure a place in next season’s Champions League.Elliott has managed just 109 Premier League minutes during his season-long loan spell, featuring only four times – well short of the 10 appearances required to trigger a £35m permanent move clause.Villa explored a January return for the midfielder, but no agreement was reached.
His only league start came in September against Fulham, where he was substituted at half-time, and he has not featured in the league since February.Despite his struggles at club level, Elliott enjoyed international success, winning the UEFA European Under-21 Championship with England U21 and being named player of the tournament after scoring five goals.He had hoped the move would boost his chances of breaking into the senior England squad for the World Cup, but competition has been fierce, with Elliot Anderson establishing himself under Thomas Tuchel.Villa boss Unai Emery has described the situation as “embarrassing for everyone involved.” “To now explain about the reason for this decision is very difficult, or it is easy, but it is not the moment,” Emery said.“My apologies for Harvey Elliott are, every day, in my mind. “How the season has gone has been difficult.”According to BBC Sport, Harvey Elliott is attracting interest from clubs in the Premier League and across Europe, but is not expected to have a future at Liverpool while Arne Slot remains in charge.Slot has, however, confirmed that Elliott will return to Liverpool for pre-season ahead of the 2026–27 campaign after being asked about the midfielder’s situation.The Dutchman said: “I think for him, for everyone, it didn’t work out as he wanted it, as we wanted it and probably also how Villa wanted it, because you usually sign a player or bring him in on loan to use him.“That hasn’t happened a lot.
But of course, it’s never nice for a player not to make so many minutes, especially after the season he had with us, where he made – I assume – even more minutes with us than these 280.“He went over there to get more playing time, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. That’s not for me to answer.“But it’s always a pity if a player hardly plays for two years, let alone a player of that age that has shown during the [U21] Euros that he’s such a good player.“He’s contracted to us so he will be with us in the start of the season.” It remains to be seen whether Elliott will leave Liverpool again before the summer transfer window.