Harvey Elliott transfer decision revealed as Unai Emery, Arne Slot respond to ’embarrassing’ situation | OneFootball

Arne Slot and Unai Emery have offered their thoughts on Harvey Elliott’s situation ahead of Friday’s game between Liverpool and Aston Villa.

During last summer’s transfer window, Elliott left Liverpool to join Aston Villa on loan with an obligation to buy if he makes ten Premier League appearances.

With Elliott coming off a great U21 European Championships, this was considered a good deal for all parties at the time, but this move has not worked out for anyone involved.

Due to the terms of the buy clause and Aston Villa being impacted by PSR rules, Emery has not been playing Elliott to avoid a permanent deal and the two clubs could not reach an agreement to alter the arrangement in January. 

This has left Elliott to endure a wasted season with very little game time, and Villa boss Emery has now hit out at the handling of this situation.

“It is something embarrassing for everyone involved in it. My apologies for Harvey Elliott are every day in my mind,” Emery said on Thursday.

“But it is the responsibility. We have our responsibility and Liverpool have their responsibility.

“As a human and as a person, how the season has gone has been difficult.”

Slot, meanwhile, has acknowledged that Elliott’s situation is a “pity”, and he has revealed what wull happen with the midfielder this summer.

“I think for him, for everyone, it didn’t work out as he wanted it, as we wanted it and probably also how Villa wanted it, because you usually sign a player or bring him in on loan to use him,” Slot told reporters.

“That hasn’t happened a lot. That’s not for me to answer why that is. But of course, it’s never nice for a player not to make so many minutes, especially after the season he had with us, where he made – I assume – even more minutes with us than these 280.

“He went over there to get more playing time, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.

“He’s contracted to us…”

“And for such a talented player that did so well in the U21 Euros [last summer], you want a player like that to get more and more playing time.

“He went to a very, very good team as well, where they also have a lot of good players. I don’t know why he hasn’t made the minutes he was expecting. That’s not for me to answer.

“But it’s always a pity if a player hardly plays for two years, let alone a player of that age that has shown during the [U21] Euros that he’s such a good player.”

Slot added: “He’s contracted to us so he will be with us in the start of the season.”