Midfielder grateful to be back with boyhood club
Hardly played at Villa but won the Europa League
Harvey Elliott believes he has been given “a second chance” at Liverpool and denied his ill-fated loan to Aston Villa was a lost year in his career.
Elliott joined Villa on a season-long loan last September with an obligation for them to buy the midfielder for £35m once he made 10 appearances for the club. However, Elliott featured only nine times, playing 277 minutes in total, with Unai Emery and Villa unconvinced over completing the deal. Having made an 89th-minute substitute appearance for Liverpool at Newcastle in August, the 23-year-old was unable to sign for a third club in a single season.
Elliott has featured in both of Liverpool’s pre-season wins under Andoni Iraola in the United States. While non-committal about his long-term future – Sunday’s opponents Leeds have been linked – Elliott spoke positively about his time at Villa, the first time he has discussed last season’s issues, and claimed he could yet feature in Iraola’s plans.
“Everyone knows how much I love the club so the feeling never goes of putting the shirt back on, representing the club, and fulfilling your childhood dream,” said Elliott, a boyhood Liverpool fan. “But truthfully, yes [I felt it would never happen again], because I wanted a new challenge. I wanted to explore something, come out of my comfort zone, and I thought that would take me on as a player. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, but the way I see it is it’s kind of a second chance, especially with the gaffer and new coaching staff coming in.
“It’s another chance to impress and hopefully get in their good books. But whatever happened last season, I wish Villa nothing but the very best. I had a lot of love for them and they treated me very well. I’m here now, and I’m trying to cement my spot in the team or within the squad.”
Liverpool defender Joe Gomez is expected to miss the start of the new Premier League season with a muscle injury, Andoni Iraola has confirmed.
Gomez went down injured after only eight minutes of Liverpool’s first pre-season friendly against Sunderland in Nashville on Saturday. The defender is facing a month on the sidelines – and Liverpool open their league campaign at Newcastle on 23 August – increasing Iraola's concerns about the depth of his defensive options.
“Joe has a muscle injury,” said the new Liverpool head coach on Thursday. “It was quite clear since he complained straight away so he will be some weeks off. It’s difficult to say [how long] – normally one month. If it goes very good, then a little bit less. If it goes bad then a bit more but it’s a muscle injury. It’s not massive. I think it will be impossible to have him for the start of the season because we are not so far but it shouldn’t be a lot more.”
With Virgil van Dijk starting pre-season training back on Merseyside this week, Giovanni Leoni recovering from an ACL injury and new signing Jérémy Jacquet yet to feature in the US after a shoulder problem, Iraola has been forced to field young and makeshift central defensive partnerships against Sunderland and Wrexham. Two 18-year-olds, Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe, and full-back Luke Chambers occupied the positions in the wins in Nashville and New York.
Iraola said: “You’ve seen in these games that we are pretty thin in the centre-back position. The only centre-backs we have are Mor and Ifeanyi who are 18, just arrived at the club, and are doing incredibly well. I’m happy that the team has shown composure and solidity at the back and it speaks very well about them."
Jacquet could make his first Liverpool appearance against Leeds in Chicago on Sunday, the final game of the club’s US tour. Florian Wirtz may also feature and Iraola has confirmed where he wants to deploy the £116m signing next season.
“I see Flo probably more in that position behind the striker,” Iraola said. “I know he has played on the left sometimes but we're going to start with him as the No 10. He's quite complete as a player and I'd like to add a few more things. In the first days of training it's clear that he's in a good place mentally.” Andy Hunter
Elliott insists he harbours “no hard feelings” towards Villa. The Liverpool player was named player of the tournament at the European Under-21s Championship in the summer of 2025 and was touted as a possible member of Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad before his career stalled in the Midlands. But he insists: “I wouldn’t say it was a lost year because, at the end of it, I won the Europa League. To have that on my CV is incredible, especially with Villa. I saw with my own eyes how much it meant for them and I wouldn’t say it’s a lost year when you achieved something like that, because that’s selfish.
“It was a situation I couldn’t control. It was just a case of accepting it, and just trying to get my head clear and get myself in the best position to come back here, and I tried as hard as I could. I still feel like I can get better and I’m working as hard as I can to do that.”
Elliott admits Emery discussed his reasoning several times and that enabled him to handle the frustration of being sidelined for the majority of the season. “He explained very, very clearly and a fair few times. The whole club were very apologetic about the situation and, ultimately, it was a situation that I couldn’t control,” Elliott said. “But I knew 100% what the case was. It was like, ‘Ok, I can get over it, I know what the situation is now’.
“It was just about me handling it and showing my professionalism. I’m not that kind of guy who wanted to kick up a fuss and cause problems, because no one really deserves that. It’s just part of football and it was a learning curve for me and an opportunity that I hope I don’t experience again. But it’s a situation where I know I’ve been able to get through it.
“I’m really happy to be back and putting a Liverpool shirt on again. Playing at Liverpool, there’s no better feeling.”
