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Jurgen Klopp had his sights set on signing Harvey Elliott for RB Leipzig before the midfielder eventually made a move to Aston Villa on deadline day.
Despite not being successful, it marked the second time Klopp - now serving as Red Bull's head of global soccer - had tried to secure Elliott, having previously played a pivotal role in his transfer to Liverpool in 2019.
At that time, Elliott made the switch from Fulham at just 16 years old, making him Liverpool's second-youngest debutant in history during an EFL Cup match against MK Dons. Elliott managed to secure a spot in Klopp's first team during the 2021/22 season, starting in each of the club's initial three Premier League games.
However, his progress was hindered by a dislocated ankle sustained during a 3-0 victory over Leeds, which resulted in him playing mostly minor roles thereafter.
During Klopp's final season with Liverpool, Elliott clocked up his highest number of appearances for the club in a single season (53), contributing four goals and 14 assists across all competitions.
Most of these appearances saw him coming off the bench rather than starting, something Klopp later confessed he regretted.
"It's not that I go back and think, 'OK, what did we all do wrong?' But if I regret one thing a little bit, it's that Harvey didn't play often enough, maybe," Klopp said in May 2024.
"Because in a very important, intense period - January, with a lot of injuries – he played really well.
"He was probably our best player - right wing, right midfield, all these kinds of things.
"Then everybody came back, and he had minutes here, minutes there, and he didn't start anymore."
That a manager of Klopp's calibre now wishes he had shown greater faith in Elliott demonstrates the young midfielder's exceptional ability and composure at such a tender stage of his career.
Perhaps that explains why Leipzig was so eager to secure his signature earlier this summer.
For whatever reason, the transfer failed to come to fruition - providing Villa with the opportunity to intervene and finalize a deal for the 22-year-old instead.
Elliott arrives at Villa on an initial loan arrangement, with an obligation to purchase agreed between the two clubs, ensuring he becomes a permanent member of Unai Emery's squad at the end of the campaign.
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