Liverpool star who’s floundered since Klopp left destined for ‘wasted season’ | OneFootball

Nothing is going right for a Liverpool star since Jurgen Klopp left and one report has hinted things have truly hit rock bottom over the last few weeks.

The bulk of Liverpool’s summer signings have struggled to get to grips with life at Anfield so far. In truth, only Hugo Ekitike can hold his head up high.

It’s a similar story for some of the players they let go who have endured slow starts at their respective new clubs.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has made no impact at Real Madrid, while Kostas Tsimikas can’t get a game during his loan spell with Roma.

Closer to home, Harvey Elliott has swapped restricted minutes at Liverpool for even more restricted minutes at Villa Park.

The 22-year-old joined Aston Villa on a season-long loan that contains a conditional obligation to buy worth £35m. The condition that activates the permanent switch is Elliott making 10 appearances this term.

Elliott is a boyhood Liverpool fan and only chose to begrudgingly leave Liverpool for the benefit of his career and extra playing time.

Yet Elliott has accrued just five appearances in a Villa shirt so far, with those outings totalling just 168 minutes of action.

Elliott was left out of Villa’s squad to face Manchester City last weekend for what manager Unai Emery described as a ‘tactical decision.’

And according to the latest from The Independent, ‘tactical decision’ could be code for Emery not wanting to trigger the conditional obligation.

The report stated: ‘That Villa have a conditional obligation to buy him after a certain number of appearances – thought to be 10, and he is on five – offers reasons to exclude him if there is any doubt.’

Elliott was ineligible to feature against parent club Liverpool on Saturday, yet if available, it’s highly unlikely he’d have stepped on the pitch anyway.

Emery operates with one No 10 and Morgan Rogers is that man when available. If Rogers needs a rest or is injured, the resurgent Emi Buendia steps in.

What’s more, the report insisted Elliott was not first or even second choice for Emery who preferred signing Lucas Paqueta or Marco Asensio instead.

As such, The Independent stated Elliott is in grave danger of enduring a ‘wasted season’ and it’s one that could see him back at square one at Anfield if Emery continues to snub the player.

What happens if Harvey Elliott returns to Liverpool?

Elliott featured 53 times in Klopp’s last season at Anfield. That was second only to Darwin Nunez in a Reds shirt and Elliott provided 14 assists across the campaign.

His minutes were slashed significantly once Arne Slot stepped in, with the Dutchman’s change of formation from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 not helping the Englishman.

Dominik Szoboszlai was the undisputed first choice in the No 10 role and Mohamed Salah remained undroppable on the right wing. Elliott does not have the physicality or defensive nous to play in a deeper midfield role.

As such, he racked up just 360 minutes of action in Liverpool’s title-winning campaign and he reluctantly agreed to leave for the benefit of his career.

If Villa do not go on to sign Elliott outright, and given Liverpool have signed Florian Wirtz in his favoured No 10 position, the strong suggestions are Liverpool will look for new buyers at a time when Elliott’s career should be blossoming, not floundering.