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Arne Slot has admitted he knows how Harvey Elliott must be feeling as the on-loan Liverpool star continues to struggle at Aston Villa.
Elliott’s time with the Reds had looked set to come to an end when he made the temporary move to Villa Park during the summer, with the transfer having been expected to eventually be made permanent. Things have not worked out as planned though.
The England U21 international has made just five appearances across all competitions for Villa, with only two of those coming from the start. To make matters worse, he hasn’t been named in Unai Emery’s Premier League squad since October’s game against Tottenham.
Despite reports suggesting he only needs to play 10 games in order for Villa to meet the obligations for his move to become permanent, even that looks in serious doubt as he looks to have been frozen out by Emery.
Football Insider now claims that Liverpool has been left “fuming” with Villa, and having come off the bench for the Reds against Newcastle in August, a move to another side is off the table, given he is unable to appear for more than two clubs in a season.
Slot was asked about Elliott’s situation during his Friday pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s game against Leeds, with the Reds boss seemingly expressing some sympathy over the 22-year-old’s frustrations.
“I haven’t had contact with him a lot, I think only once or twice, and that was before he played Feyenoord away and after,” Slot said.
“But that had more to do with him playing against a former club of mine, so no, I haven’t spoken to him.
“I am aware of his situation, of course. I knew how difficult it already was for him over here, so I think I know how he feels at this moment, but you should ask those questions at Villa, and not over here when it’s about his playing time.”
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The only options open to Elliott are to return to Liverpool in January, or stay at Villa for the remainder of the season. The Athletic has claimed there are no plans for the Reds to recall him, which could leave him in a difficult position.
Speaking about Elliott last week, Emery said: "We now have a lot of matches. We must focus on each match with the players we have now. We are not thinking about the transfer window in January. He (Elliott) is one of our players and hopefully he can help us. Then, we are going to decide.
"Firstly, there are other players performing very well. This is the first argument of why he is not playing. He is training very well every day."
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