Harvey Elliott is attracting Premier League and European interest after a stop-start loan at Aston Villa, with the 23-year-old still expected back at Liverpool for the start of pre-season.
He is due to report to the Axa Training Centre this summer, but his future at Anfield looks uncertain if Arne Slot remains in charge next season. Elliott made only nine appearances in all competitions for Villa after joining on deadline day last year, and his spell was shaped by missed chances, a failed buy option and a clear lack of trust from Unai Emery.
The numbers tell the story. Villa had an obligation to buy Elliott for £35m if he made 10 Premier League appearances, but he managed only four in the league and started once. Emery said in November that he had already decided not to make the move permanent, and talks between Villa and Liverpool in January about ending the loan did not produce an agreement. By the time Villa beat Nottingham Forest 4-0 on Thursday to reach the Europa League final against Freiburg, Elliott was only an unused substitute. He was also ineligible to face Liverpool in Friday's league meeting at Villa Park.
Elliott's season never really settled. Emery left him out entirely when he made seven changes against Tottenham earlier this month, a further sign that the midfielder had slipped out of the plan. That was a sharp contrast with last summer, when Elliott won Player of the Tournament as England Under-21s lifted Euro 2025 and looked set to carry that momentum into a bigger role at club level.
Instead, his Villa move has left him in a difficult position. He joined hoping to force his way into Thomas Tuchel's World Cup picture, yet Elliot Anderson has since become a regular under Tuchel after making six games. Elliott now faces a summer in limbo: back at Liverpool for pre-season, wanted elsewhere, and apparently without a clear role at his parent club if Slot stays put.
What happens next matters because Elliott is no longer in the stage of his career where time can be wasted quietly. At 23, he needs a club willing to play him regularly, and this summer looks likely to decide whether the promise he showed with England Under-21s survives a year that, by any measure, set him back.
