Elliott’s Villa return shows why his future still looks blocked | OneFootball

Harvey Elliott finally returned to competitive action for Aston Villa against Red Bull Salzburg, but his performance did little to change the reality of his situation.

The Liverpool loanee made his first appearance in almost four months in Villa’s 3-2 Europa League win.

He nearly scored inside 30 seconds and then completed the full 90 minutes.

In truth, his performance was always likely to not matter because the main question is whether anyone actually intends to use him regularly.

Elliott plays again but remains stuck on the fringes

(Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Elliott was drafted in because of Villa’s injury crisis.

John McGinn and Youri Tielemans were missing, Ollie Watkins was also forced off and so this was opportunity through necessity rather than trust.

Unai Emery has already been clear about where Elliott stands and spoke after the game (via Birmingham Live): “With Harvey, it is not changing. We have our idea.”

“I spoke with Harvey clearly. I said before that he is a fantastic guy. Tomorrow he is in the squad as well… but it is not changing the situation he has now.”

That message was repeated again this week, Emery’s stance is not tactical – it’s structural.

Even with Elliott starting and finishing the match, nothing about his status shifted.

From a Liverpool fan perspective, that’s worrying. A 22-year-old who need rhythm and direction but instead has been cast aside by us and Villa.

Elliott’s Salzburg display was solid but not transformative

(Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Elliott’s numbers against Salzburg were respectable.

He completed 45 of 52 passes, had 67 touches, registered 0.46 xG from three shots, missed one big chance and also worked defensively with two tackles and six recoveries.

That profile matches what we know about him. but will not be decisive enough to change a manager’s mind.

Across the season, Elliott has now played eight games, scoring once and logging just 264 minutes.

There is also a contractual reality, if he reaches 10 appearances, Villa are obliged to buy him.

Right now, that looks extremely unlikely. Villa are managing injuries but not building a future around Elliott.

That leaves Liverpool in an awkward position.

We have a player who is fit, can contribute, loves the Reds and has no pathway at his loan club.

Dean Smith, the Charlotte FC boss,  even acknowledged that reality when discussing potential alternatives.

“If he’s not going to play for Villa and he can’t play anywhere else, then it would be an option for him to come and play some games.”

Why this is a Liverpool problem, not just a Villa one

Picture via @AVFCOfficial on X

Elliott deserves better than this, he’s not being trusted at Villa and he has no realistic route back into Liverpool’s starting plans right now either.

This loan was meant to solve a problem but has created a new one.

Elliott’s return showed he can still perform at this level but it also showed that performance alone will not change his status.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by 🦋 (@harvelliott)

Join our channel of readers on WhatsApp to get the day’s top stories straight to your mobile