Harvey Elliott decision made by Villa as Liverpool concerns emerge | Football | Sport

Harvey Elliott has had a tough season at Aston Villa, where he was sent on loan by Liverpool, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a prominent figure in the club’s festive marketing campaign. The 22-year-old midfielder was brought to Villa Park on a temporary basis in September, with a £35million obligation for a permanent transfer if he plays 10 matches for the club.

To date, Elliott has only managed five appearances for Villa and hasn’t been seen on the pitch since October 2 under Unai Emery. Despite scoring on his full debut against Brentford in the Carabao Cup in September, he was substituted off at half-time in his only other start against former club Fulham later that month.

Since then, he’s only been brought on once as a late substitute in Villa’s Europa League victory over Feyenoord in early October. In the seven matches since his last game, Elliott remained on the bench against Burnley, Tottenham, Go Ahead Eagles and Maccabi Tel Aviv, and was left out of the squad entirely for wins over Manchester City and AFC Bournemouth.

He was also ineligible to play against his parent club, Liverpool. The future of the young midfielder has been thrown into doubt due to his limited playing time.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that he made two appearances for Liverpool before joining Villa, which prevents him from playing for a third team in the 2025/26 season. As the January transfer window approaches, it’s unclear whether Elliott will remain at Villa, with concerns over whether the £35m obligation to buy will be triggered.

Nevertheless, the club may have revealed a clue regarding his prospects.

Elliott features among numerous players in Villa’s festive marketing drive.

The club posted a photograph of him donning a Villa woolly hat, ‘Up the Villa’ scarf and Christmas jumper, alongside the motto: ‘All is Claret, All is Blue’.

The Liverpool loanee also posted the picture on his Instagram story.

Additional Villa stars, including Ollie Watkins and Matty Cash, were likewise featured in the drive.

Despite only being on loan at Villa Park, the inclusion of the 22-year-old in the drive could be viewed as a telling signal of Villa’s plans, regardless of the continuing rumours surrounding his prospects.

Speaking at the end of October when Elliott was omitted from the squad to face City, Villa boss Emery said: “I explained it two days ago in the press conference. He is training well, and he played some matches, but the performances were not what we needed.

“Some players are playing as a No.10, and they are playing well, like [Emi] Buendia and [Morgan] Rogers, also Ross Barkley after he was out. In the squad today we needed to take one player out, and I decided for him. I am happy with him.

“He is training good. His commitment is fantastic and he is a good guy. Only [a] tactical decision.”