For Harvey Elliott, this season has been one of contrasting emotions.
The boyhood Red has enjoyed some memorable moments, none more so than the winner at the Parc des Princes two weeks ago. But there was also the encouraging display against Southampton a few days later in the Premier League, a player-of-the-game display at St Mary’s in December and a winning goal against Lille in the Champions League.
He celebrated that goal by giving a ‘I’m-not-leaving’ salute and spoke post-match about his desire to keep progressing at Anfield. But this season, for the first time in his burgeoning career, that development has stalled. He’s gone backwards under Arne Slot.
That might feel harsh, but the numbers don’t lie. Elliott has played just 121 minutes in the Premier League this season and is yet to start a league match since Jurgen Klopp’s departure. He also isn’t readily called upon from the bench, playing in just two of the last seven league games, one of which came in injury-time against Manchester City.
Were he in the prime of his career, Elliott would surely have no option but to move – but, at 21, he’ll likely be willing to stick around for another year and try to prove his worth to Slot. His response in a recent interview is a reminder of the midfielder’s relatively youthful outlook, and, as a boyhood Red, his absolute devotion to the club.
“It was really weird because for the first few months I would say I was amazed by it; I didn’t think it was true,” Elliott told Amazon Prime. “Even to this day there are pinch-me moments where I’m like ‘I’m here, I’m living my dream’. I’m living my family’s dream as well.
“It got to the point where I thought. ‘I’m here now and have to show I can play for this team.’ It was leaving the fan boy beside me and thinking. ‘This is my job.’ It gave me more of that hunger to go and make a name for myself and be regarded as a Liverpool player.”
(Image: Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)
And Elliott has undoubtedly achieved that, making 140 appearances for Liverpool and 53 in Klopp’s final season – the second-highest in the squad. But after overcoming those hurdles, now is the next test: proving he is ready to become a reliable and regular contributor.
Even his most vocal supporters couldn’t argue that hasn’t been achieved, and there has always been a feeling that Elliott is part of the supporting cast. There’s only so much longer that can continue.
There have been encouraging signs of late; the PSG winner, his second-half outing against Southampton and an assist in the Carabao Cup final. His downfall has been the last three starts against Accrington Stanley, Plymouth Argyle and PSV Eindhoven, when he failed to seriously make his mark on the games.
With the league likely to be wrapped up in the next few weeks and Slot recently admitting it was difficult to leave him out of the starting line-up to play Southampton, chances could come for Elliot before the campaign’s conclusion. Taking them could be the key to ensuring 2025/26 offers more minutes than this season.
