Insider now ‘almost certain’ of next move for Harvey Elliott amid abortive Aston Villa loan | OneFootball

Harvey Elliott begins 2026 with a rather uncertain short-term future, with his move from Liverpool to Aston Villa emphatically not going to plan.

He has been left idle for the past three months after falling out of favour under Unai Emery, and having been stuck on only half of the 10-match threshold for the initial loan transfer to become permanent, it’s inevitable that the Midlands club won’t be keeping him for the long haul.

The Athletic reported last week that MLS club Charlotte FC are interested in signing the player, although the same outlet have since claimed that sources close to the 22-year-old have downplayed interest in a temporary move to the United States.

Nonetheless, Mick Brown – the ex-Manchester United chief scout who remains well-connected within football circles – believes that a short stint across the Atlantic will materialise for Elliott.

Elliott ‘almost certain’ to go to MLS

He told Football Insider: “It looks almost certain now he will end up in the MLS. The lad has got to be playing football, and it’s become very clear that’s not going to happen at Aston Villa despite what he might have hoped when he joined.

“It’s a real shame, because he’s a very talented player who probably would have been knocking on the door of the England squad if he was playing regularly. Even at Liverpool he was a fringe player and was in and out of the team, but now he’s not even getting those sorts of minutes.

“A move to the MLS is the only way for that to happen at the moment, so that’s the best option. He can go out there for six months, focus on just playing and impressing, and then assess the situation in the summer and see what’s available.”

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

MLS could be ideal short-term fix for Elliott

A six-month loan move to MLS would appear to be in everyone’s best interests, most importantly Elliott’s. There’s no point in continuing to let him go to waste at Villa, while Liverpool’s agreement to let him leave without a recall clause indicates that there’s no real future for him at Anfield (despite some pleas for him to be given another chance).

Most of all, the 22-year-old deserves to be at a club where his talents are appreciated and where he could – for the time being, at least – give his career the necessary kickstart, with a view to either remaining in America long-term or using it as a launching pad for another crack at the Premier League or Europe.

MLS has emerged as one of the most viable short-term options for him due to regulations preventing him from representing more than two clubs in the same season. As the Stateside league runs on a calendar year basis (that will change from 2027), it’s exempt from the same classification.

While both Liverpool and Villa are understood to be exploring the possibility of terminating their agreement on Elliott (The Athletic), it mightn’t be entirely straightforward, as the Midlands side would need to pay a severance fee if the loan is ended early. It’d therefore oblige the two clubs to reach a truce which’d satisy them both and create an escape route for the player.

As much as we’d love to have the 22-year-old back at Anfield, realistically that’s highly unlikely to happen as he’s not part of Arne Slot’s plans, so the next best thing would be for him to go somewhere that he’d be getting the game-time he deserves and freed from his current stasis.