Liverpool is a club that, despite the huge spending made during the summer, seems a bit light given the series of injuries in different departments of the first team. While the biggest concerns are on the defensive side, with the right-back and centre-back particularly weak due to injuries to Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong and Joe Gomez, there are still doubts over Arne Slot’s ability to look for changes in the game on the bench.
With Mohamed Salah back in the fold after his time at the African Cup of Nations, things are perhaps a little less dire, but it is true that Slot does not have as deep a squad as we would expect given Alexander Isak’s long-term injury. At this moment, if the coach were to play with his four favorite attackers, the bench would leave Federico Chiesa and Rio Ngumoha as the main candidates to select if they are chasing a goal. That is to say, the profits are slim.
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One name that has remained on the minds of many Liverpool fans this season and could also serve as a decent option off the bench and as a rotational starter is Harvey Elliott. The young midfielder’s loan to Aston Villa, while certainly sad for fans who had seen him as a reliable option off the bench, would not come as a surprise given that Arne Slot’s midfield and attacking setups did not appear to benefit the young talent. And with the purchase of Florian Wirtz, a young attacking midfielder who can also play on the wing (albeit on the opposite side of the pitch), it seemed his days at Anfield were always numbered.
However, to say his loan to Aston Villa hasn’t gone to plan seems like an understatement. With the young player more or less frozen out of Unai Emery’s side, Elliott made an appearance for Villa late last week, sparking a brief moment of hope. That all faded away, however, given Emery’s now rather famously insane rant that essentially attempted to lay the blame for Elliott’s lack of playing time at the feet of Liverpool, a club the player is not currently registered with.
It’s more than a little infuriating because a footballer’s career depends on the sympathy of a manager who clearly doesn’t want to activate the automatic buyout clause in the deal. Put another way, Elliott’s future is completely out of his hands.
I have to say I’ve been getting a little lost on this story for the last day. Mainly because beyond the absolutely unhinged and indefensible position that Emery has laid out, which includes the subtext that Villa’s own form could stand a bit of an infusion of the talent that Harvey possesses. Emery is choosing to risk the chance of his team catching Arsenal simply because he no longer likes the terms he agreed to when he brought the player in on loan.
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No, I’ve been going crazy because this story is really a sad situation for Harvey Elliott. Here was a player whose window to hit his career ceiling, which some had predicted, would quickly close. And without it really being his fault.
Maybe, ultimately, Harvey just isn’t a superstar. After all, we have seen what Florian Wirtz has achieved in the short time he has had at Anfield. But I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if he had landed somewhere where, like Jurgen Klopp, he had been trusted more.
It’s a sliding doors moment that happens to many footballers, but this one for some reason gets me. Maybe because we got to see Harvey move into the first team and become a reliable player. We could see him have moments of triumph on the field that hinted at that tantalizing potential. And, perhaps most importantly, we got to see a fellow Rojo live all our dreams and make it big.
But I think the whole circumstance also saddens me because the fandom experience is so disorienting. We demand a lot from athletes and, perhaps because of their wealth, forget the brutal realities in which they earn their living. I’ve seen fans talk about team “heroes” and “icons” in one instant, then demand they be removed the next. Then, those same fans feel burned or offended when one of those same players even deigns to think about playing somewhere else.
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I’m not immune to this; In fact, I feel a little strange putting in so much effort at this point, given that this ecosystem is what allows me to write this article and earn a (very modest) sum to do so. I am also, to paraphrase a wise woman, the problem.
So, yes, I am incredibly disgusted with Emery and find this whole thing to be a disgusting farce. But I’m also very sad for Harvey Elliott and all the players who find themselves in similar circumstances.
I hope, for Elliott’s sake, a solution can be found. Or, at least, that he can find his way to a team where he can show his talent. And conversely, I hope Emery has to sleep in a bed that’s a little too short and a little too warm for the next five years. I feel like both of those things would bring me some peace.