Liverpool starlet Harvey Elliott made a season-long loan move to Aston Villa at the end of the summer transfer window but things have not gone to plan for him so far
13:47, 13 Nov 2025
Harvey Elliott has struggled for minutes at Aston Villa(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
It was never meant to happen like this. Harvey Elliott never wanted to leave Liverpool, even on loan, and now his Aston Villa spell has gone about as badly as it could have done.
Elliott had established himself as part of Liverpool’s plans under Jurgen Klopp, playing more than 30 league games in each of the German’s last two seasons. Things were tougher under Arne Slot, though, and – for the first time since joining the Reds as a teenager – he was considering a move.
With a World Cup on the horizon, Elliott was aiming to build on his Under-21 Euros win with England by kicking on and making the senior squad. However, while Under-21 colleague Alex Scott has made the step up to the seniors, Elliott’s Aston Villa nightmare has left him as far from a call-up as ever.
“Look, if I had it my way, I’d be here for the rest of my career, it’s as simple as that, I love everything about the club,” Elliott told The Anfield Wrap over the summer. “But at the same time I kind of need to be selfish with myself and see what’s best for me. I have big ambitions. I want to go to the World Cup. I want to keep being successful as a player.
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“I think it’s still something I need to review,” he continued. “I need to have a talk with everyone, really and review the situation because we’ve had many new players come in, so whether it blocks the path for me I’m not sure, it’s something I need to decide and have a look at.
“My main focus is here now. At the moment I’m here for the season, as far as I’m aware, unless if anything changes, we have a busy pre-season, it’s non-stop, I need to make sure I’m focus on that and just be ready for everything.”
Elliott was a substitute more than a starter in Klopp’s final season, at least as far as the league was concerned, but averaged a goal or assist every 111 minutes in the league or every 155 minutes across all competitions. His contributions-per-minute record under Slot was slightly better, but that doesn’t mean a great deal when you consider he managed just 822 minutes in the league, domestic cups and Champions League combined.
Elliott started the season with Liverpool but left in search of regular football(Image: Getty Images)
There were impressive performances hidden within that, though, not least a cameo against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. It’s no surprise that there was interest in the 22-year-old, with West Ham and RB Leipzig both linked, but Villa certainly looks to have been the wrong choice.
Since joining Unai Emery’s side on a season-long loan, Elliott has played just 167 minutes in all competitions. He has started just once in the Premier League, a 45-minute run-out against former club Fulham, and his only action of any kind since that match at the end of September was a four-minute cameo against Feyenoord in the Europa League.
Villa will be forced to buy him permanently for a fee in the region of £30million if he makes 10 appearances, but that’s far from a certainty. He’s on five so far, but didn’t even make the matchday squad for the last three league games (though that includes a game against parent club Liverpool for which he was ineligible).
Villa reportedly favoured a permanent move for Marco Asensio before moving for Elliott(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
According to The Athletic, there is no recall clause in the deal and neither club has expressed a desire to cancel the loan. This is despite Liverpool planning for Mo Salah to head to Morocco for the Africa Cup of Nations and despite the same publication indicating Villa’s new No.9 was manager Emery’s third choice behind former loanee Marco Asensio and West Ham star Lucas Paqueta.
Emi Buendia’s resurgence has arguably made it easier for Emery to ignore the new recruit. Buendia spent the second half of last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen as he looked to play himself back into form after recovering from an ACL injury and has reaped the benefits this season.
The Argentina international has yet to complete a full 90 but has three goals and two assists across 430 Premier League minutes while looking to have the backing of his boss. That’s bad news for Elliott, with Buendia and Morgan Rogers firmly ahead of him in the pecking order these days and a deeper starting role out of the question as Emery relies on longer-serving stars who need no extra time to adapt to his system.
Emi Buendia’s resurgence has complicated things for Elliott(Image: Getty Images)
“He is training well, and he played some matches, but the performances weren’t what we needed,” Emery said when asked why Elliott wasn’t in his matchday squad for the recent victory over Manchester City. “Some players are playing as a No 10, and they are playing well, like Buendia and Rogers. Also Ross Barkley, after he was out.
“In the squad, we needed to take one player out, and I decided for (it to be) him. I am happy with him. He is training good. His commitment is fantastic and he is a good guy. (It is) Only a tactical decision.”
It’s a long season, so Elliott could yet force his way into Emery’s starting line-up. Right now, though, he might look at the fact that Federico Chiesa has played twice as many minutes for Liverpool than he has for Villa after both were largely sidelined at Anfield last term and wonder if he might have been better off staying put.
Part of the motivation behind leaving Liverpool was a chance of sneaking into England’s squad for the World Cup. While there are still some ifs and maybes around his club future, that particular dream looks dead in the water barring a dramatic change in the new year.
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