James Pearce reveals truth behind Harvey Elliott’s failed Villa spell | OneFootball

Harvey Elliott’s difficult season at Aston Villa has now been fully explained by James Pearce, and from a Liverpool perspective it’s hard not to feel sympathy for the academy graduate.

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The 23-year-old left Anfield on loan last summer after struggling for minutes under Arne Slot, but what initially looked like a smart move for all parties has quickly turned into a damaging situation for the England youth international.

Writing for The Athletic, Pearce admitted the midfielder has effectively lost an entire year of development.

James Pearce explains Harvey Elliott nightmare

Responding to a supporter question, Pearce wrote: “I’ve got a lot of sympathy for Elliott, who has effectively seen a year of his career go to waste.”

The journalist explained that the former Fulham youngster simply couldn’t break into Slot’s preferred setup.

“Slot just felt he had better options last season. With Szoboszlai preferred as No 10 and Salah excelling on the right, most of Elliott’s game time came off the bench.”

Pearce also pointed out that Florian Wirtz arriving at Liverpool meant opportunities would only become even more limited.

The issue, though, has been what happened after Elliott joined Villa Park.

Why Aston Villa stopped selecting Elliott

Pearce revealed the structure of the agreement became the key problem.

“Liverpool only agreed to the initial loan (with a £35million permanent deal triggered after he played 10 league games) to help Villa meet profit and sustainability rules.”

At the time, the obligation was reportedly viewed as inevitable. However, Unai Emery changed his mind.

“But Unai Emery subsequently decided he didn’t want to keep Elliott, so stopped selecting him to avoid that clause being activated.”

Liverpool then refused to help Villa out in January.

“Villa wanted the clause lifted in January but Liverpool were never going to agree to that.”

That decision has effectively left Elliott trapped between two clubs while his value potentially drops.

Henry Winter recently described the situation as “a sad waste of a year”, and it’s difficult to disagree.

As things stand, Pearce says the playmaker will return to Liverpool this summer, although a permanent move elsewhere still appears the most likely outcome, even though the player may want to stay on Merseyside.