Liverpool warned of ‘completely dysfunctional’ situation plaguing star | Football | Sport

Harvey Elliott made the agonising choice to depart Liverpool following their Premier League title win last summer, but his switch to Aston Villa has been disastrous through no fault of his own. The European Under-21 Championship Player of the Tournament’s transfer to Villa initially suggested a permanent departure from Merseyside was on the cards.

The arrangement between the Midlands club and Liverpool saw Elliott arrive on a season-long loan with an obligation to purchase him for £35million after 10 appearances. By early October, with five appearances, the milestone seemed inevitable. Yet Unai Emery then inexplicably froze him out.

That is, until recently, when he completed 90 minutes in Villa’s Europa League 3-2 triumph against Red Bull Salzburg before a substitute appearance in their 1-0 league defeat to Brentford at home.

Most recently, Elliott was omitted entirely from the matchday squad for the 1-1 draw at Bournemouth, with Emery pleading beforehand for the Reds to scrap the obligation to buy clause to avoid ‘damaging’ the player.

He said: “I spoke with him. We have been fair because there are two ways: one way is a sport, the second is business. We’ll be fair in case, because we are trying it, and I told him, we are opening the door to play with us, because he can help us.

“But it’s not only in my way and on my side. The other side is Liverpool. If they take off the clauses to play matches and for us to buy him, (I said to him): ‘You are going to play here with us, it’s a sport decision’.

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“But now it’s a sport decision and a business decision. My sport decision is still there: ‘You are deserving to play, we need your qualities in the field, you are going to play’.

“But in case the clauses are still there, now it is Liverpool – they have the key. And I told him, it will be fair for him in case Liverpool take off this clause.

“We are speaking about it (taking off the clause) but not (just) now. We started speaking about it three months ago. Of course, the transfer window finished on Monday.

“It will be fair for him, because he’s a calm guy, good guy, and he’s a fantastic professional. And then his qualities are there.

“Of course he must play, and he’s really being patient. And I know we are damaging him, because we got a deal with Liverpool in the summer and the deal is there, and we are respecting the decision and taking the sporting decision responsibly from my side.

“It can change for him, in case Liverpool take off this clause. If they don’t want to, okay, but the player is getting damaged.”

The situation means Elliott could feature just twice more for Villa this campaign before finding himself in an uncertain position. The 22-year-old was unable to secure a move in January due to having already played for Liverpool this season, with FIFA rules stipulating that a player can only play for two clubs in one season despite being registered with three.

Now, former Liverpool managing director and current Aston Villa CEO Christian Purslow has voiced his opinion on the matter. Speaking on the Football Boardroom podcast, he said: “The deal that was done, maybe by (former Villa transfer chief) Monchi and not by Unai Emery, has a perverse incentive for Unai not to pick the footballer.

“That is utterly and completely dysfunctional. Nobody benefits. Common sense would suggest compromise is required. You have a quiet word with the two sides and try to get them together.

“Unai needs to get together with the key player on the Liverpool side. This is Michael Edwards level – he is the CEO of football. He believed he had sold Harvey Elliott on a deferred transfer and it hasn’t worked out.

“Unai and Michael in a room. Unai would say: ‘He’s not going to play because we do not want to buy him’. If I were Unai, I would say: ‘If I didn’t have this contract hanging over my head, there is a really good chance Harvey would get plenty of football between now and the summer’.

“I believe that if the three parties all agree, they could modify the agreement. Liverpool have plugged into their financial models that they will receive a transfer fee for Harvey next summer but he is not going to be bought by Villa.

“If I were Michael Edwards, I would think that if he gets more minutes at Villa between now and the end of the season, his value will be maintained higher. But if he doesn’t play football for a purely contractual reason for the next four months, everyone loses.”

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