Just five months ago, Elliott scored five goals and was named player of the tournament as England Under-21s won Euro 2025.
By then Villa were already showing their interest, driven by Monchi – who has since been replaced by Roberto Olabe as president of football operations – while Unai Emery made it clear he wanted Elliott.
A move to RB Leipzig was possible while West Ham held an interest but it was Villa who signed him on loan with a £35m obligation to buy on deadline day.
He said at the time: “I loved every minute of it [at Liverpool]; every second, every day. I wouldn’t change it.
“But the most important thing for me when I was making the decision was to be playing first-team football.”
Fast forward 12 weeks and he has played 96 minutes in the Premier League, being substituted at half-time in his only start against Fulham. A goal on his full debut in August’s Carabao Cup defeat by Brentford seems an age away.
His last appearance came as an 86th-minute substitute against Feyenoord in the Europa League on 2 October.
Ultimately, it appears Villa do not want to spend the money. Profit and sustainability concerns come into consideration while there have been suggestions they feel Elliott has not brought the quality they expected.
Emery has given some guarded explanations regarding the omission of Elliott, who has not featured in their past five Premier League squads, having been ineligible to face Liverpool last month.
While Emery, a demanding manager, takes time to integrate players into his squad, it is felt the situation is past that now.
“We now have a lot of matches. We must focus on each match with the players we have now,” Emery said last week, before again leaving Elliott out of the squad for Sunday’s win over Wolves.
“We are not thinking about the transfer window in January. He is one of our players and hopefully he can help us.
“Then, we are going to decide. Firstly, there are other players performing very well. This is the first argument of why he is not playing.”
Morgan Rogers is one of those. His form has made him one of Thomas Tuchel’s England stars.
The resurgence of Emi Buendia has also surprised those at Villa. The attacking midfielder had been expected to leave, but he has now become a key man for Emery.
Elliott, who has made 201 career appearances, primarily views himself as a number 10, only to find Rogers and Buendia barring his way into the team.
But the 22-year-old has always remained focused. He is humble and polite, shaking hands with journalists to introduce himself properly when he arrived at Villa.
He remains involved, especially with Emery often playing 11-versus-11 matches in training. His team-mates feel he has trained well and kept a positive mindset.
