Harvey Elliott decision made as Liverpool faces questions over $48M clause

Harvey Elliott is staying put at Aston Villa, but despite a potential lifeline for him this season, his future remains up in major doubt as Liverpool looks to find a way forward

Harvey Elliott is set to stay at Aston Villa for the remainder of the season(Image: Getty Images)

Harvey Elliott will be staying at Aston Villa for the remainder of the season, but major questions still lie over his future.

The midfielder has of course spent the majority of campaign on loan in the midlands after completing a move from Liverpool on deadline day during the summer - one that the Reds expected to eventually be made permanent.

That looks to be out of the question now, with Elliott having found himself out of favor under Villa boss Unai Emery, but a return to Liverpool is also unavailable until the summer now that the winter transfer window has closed.

That leaves Elliott in an awkward position, given Villa will be unlikely to trigger the obligation that would see the club paying Liverpool $48 million (£35M) to make the move permanent.

Just 10 appearances are needed for that clause to be triggered. The 22-year-old had played five times for Villa before finding himself frozen out around October, with Emery admitting he wasn’t convinced on the player.

Reports though suggest Liverpool is trying to reach a resolution with Villa over that obligation. According to the Daily Mail, the two clubs are set to hold talks over the terms of Elliott’s loan.

Harvey Elliott has made seven appearances for Aston Villa this season(Image: 2026 Aston Villa FC)

Although the transfer window has now closed, those discussions can still take place, with the talks likely to center around raising the appearance target, or converting the obligation into an option.

As things stand though, there are still major doubts over Elliott’s future. The Athletic reports that no progress has been made, and there have been no recent discussions about removing the 10-game obligation, with no agreement reached on an early return to Liverpool.

Elliott’s future would appear to lie away from Anfield, or at least it does under Arne Slot. The Liverpool boss has shown little interest in discussing the midfielder’s future, having insisted that any questions should be put to Emery instead.

The England U21 international has surprisingly found himself back in contention at Villa recently though, having started against Red Bull Salzburg in the Europa League before coming off the bench in the 1-0 defeat to Brentford at the weekend.

Emery though is not backing down from his stance. "The problem we have with Harvey is that this year he is on loan, and in case he plays matches we must buy him," he explained recently.

"We decided two months ago that we are not convinced to sign him, spending the money we would need to sign him.

"This is the only issue. He is training every day, always every day with very good behaviour and to help us in training sessions.

"This is not something good for him and good for us, but this is football and sometimes we must take some decisions which are not good for everyone."