Harvey Elliott latest as Unai Emery speaks out on Liverpool loanee after surprise inclusion

Harvey Ellliott appeared to be handed an unlikely Aston Villa lifeline at the weekend. With just days left of the transfer window, Unai Emery has spoken out.

Harvey Elliott remains in limbo at Aston Villa. (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)

It's hard to fathom exactly where it has all gone wrong for Harvey Elliott. With time running out to find a resolution that will prevent another half-season of exile at Aston Villa, manager Unai Emery has had his say.

Remarkably, until the weekend, Elliott had not even made a matchday squad since November. So he will have been as surrpised as anyone to be named on the bench against Newcastle.

But if he had hoped that this might have signaled a change of heart from Emery, any optimism appears to have been swiftly dashed. With Arne Slot shifting responsibility squarely onto Aston Villa, he is staring down the barrel of another five months without football.

"With Harvey, it’s not changing," Emery told a press conference today. "Our idea is that we spoke to him clearly.

"He’s a fantastic guy. On Sunday, he was on the bench, and if we needed some help from him, he was ready to do it.

"He is in the squad tomorrow. But the situation is not changing for him that he has now."

The situation in question is the structure of the transfer agreement between Liverpool and Aston Villa. It was devised so that an obligation to make the deal permanent (for a sum in the region of $41-48 million) would kick in after Elliott made 10 appearances.

Perhaps Liverpool expected that to be a formality, only structured in such a manner to help Aston Villa with potential pressure from the league's financial rules. But things have played out in a dramatically different fashion.

At the beginning of January, Emery spoke candidly. He conceded that he had decided two months ago that Elliott did not warrant the pre-agreed price tag, and that he was therefore unwilling to allow the midfielder to reach 10 games played.

Unai Emery has confirmed that Elliott's situation remains the same. (Image: Morgan Harlow/Getty Images)

Making matters even worse, Elliott already represented Liverpool this season, prior to his transfer to the Midlands club. So FIFA rules prevent him from moving to a third club in any league that operates on a September-June schedule.

MLS interest seems like the only plausible remaining lifeline. Charlotte FC has expressed an interest, but a move is yet to progress.

And as Slot has mentioned, Liverpool does not even hold a recall clause. So it cannot force the issue and bring him back to Anfield, where at least there would be no financial incentive against playing him.

It's all a scarcely believable state of affairs for someone who was lifting the Premier League trophy just a few months ago. Admittedly, Elliott would have hoped for more involvement last season, but he still played a significant part in Liverpool's triumph.

Elliott celebrating Liverpool's title triumph in happier times. (Image: Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Had he stayed, he could surely have played a larger role in this campaign, in a Liverpool midfield currently bereft of energy and industry (beyond the tireless Dominik Szoboszlai). But at the time, a transfer seemed like a natural next step, and one that would give him a platform to showcase the full extent of his considerable talent.

Perhaps Elliott should have foreseen the risks of picking Aston Villa, who already had Morgan Rogers on the books. Perhaps he should also have been advised against the risks of a loan with a conditional obligation to buy.

But he could not have foreseen the resurgence of Emi Buendia. He would also have struggled to predict that he would be fighting for minutes amid a surprise title tilt.

With Emery following previous managers in praising Elliott's application and work ethic, it all feels desperately unlucky, especially in a World Cup year. It is a mark of the man that he was prepared to return to the bench at the weekend, knowing that he is still in no way part of the long-term plan.

Nevertheless, it would clearly be best for everyone if this nightmare could be ended early. It is an extraordinary waste of talent, and one which feels as though it was entirely avoidable.