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Harvey Elliott has had a testing season at Aston Villa, yet he still features prominently in the club's festive marketing campaign.
The 22-year-old midfielder made the switch from Liverpool to Villa Park in September, with an obligation for a permanent move if he clocks up 10 appearances for the club. To date, Elliott has only managed five outings for Villa and hasn't seen any action since October 2 under manager Unai Emery.
Despite netting on his full debut against Brentford in the Carabao Cup in September, he was subbed off at half-time in his only other start against former club Fulham later that month. Since then, he's only been brought on once as a late substitute in Villa's Europa League victory over Feyenoord in early October.
In the seven matches since his last game, Elliott remained benched against Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur, Go Ahead Eagles, and Maccabi Tel Aviv, and was left out of the squad entirely for wins over Manchester City and AFC Bournemouth.
He was also ineligible to play against his parent club, Liverpool. The future of the young midfielder has been thrown into doubt due to his limited playing time.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that he made two appearances for Liverpool before joining Villa, which prevents him from playing for a third team in the 2025-26 season.
As the January transfer window approaches, it's unclear whether Elliott will remain at Villa. However, the club may have subtly hinted at his future. Elliott is one of several players featured in Villa's Christmas marketing campaign.
The club posted a photo of him donning a Villa woolly hat, "Up the Villa" scarf and Christmas jumper, accompanied by the slogan: "All is Claret, All is Blue."
The Liverpool loanee also shared the image on his Instagram story. Other Villa players, including Ollie Watkins and Matty Cash, were also included in the campaign.
Despite being only on loan at Villa Park, the inclusion of the 22-year-old in the campaign could be seen as a significant indication of Villa's intentions, despite the ongoing speculation about his future.
Speaking at the end of October when Elliott was left out of the squad to play City, Villa manager Emery said: "I explained it two days ago in the press conference. He is training well, and he played some matches, but the performances were not what we needed.
"Some players are playing as a No.10, and they are playing well, like [Emi] Buendia and [Morgan] Rogers, also Ross Barkley after he was out.
"In the squad today we needed to take one player out, and I decided for him. I am happy with him.
"He is training good. His commitment is fantastic and he is a good guy. Only [a] tactical decision."
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