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It's no secret that Mohamed Salah's future at Liverpool is in doubt.
The Egyptian forward started a storm last weekend by claiming he has no relationship with Reds manager Arne Slot and accusing the club of throwing him under the bus. Slot responded by dropping Salah from his squad for the 1-0 win at Inter Milan on Tuesday, and it's unclear whether the player will return to the starting XI against Brighton this Saturday.
Salah may not even play for Liverpool again. He heads off to the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt on Monday and may seek a transfer away from Merseyside upon his return from the international tournament. If that happens, who will replace Salah at Anfield?
Antoine Semenyo's name is being thrown around; the Bournemouth striker has a £65 million ($87 million) release clause that can be activated in the transfer window.
But another, perhaps forgotten, option is to bring Harvey Elliott back to Liverpool. The 22-year-old left Anfield for Aston Villa during the summer transfer window, but the move hasn't worked out. Elliott is consistently failing to make Unai Emery's matchday squad in the Premier League and won't play against Basel in Switzerland on Thursday.
"We are speaking with him and about his situation," said Emery ahead of the Europa League game. "He is not here with us. Hopefully, we can get the best for him and the best for us.
"I respect him as a player and as a person. He is training well, but we have one circumstance with him. Hopefully, we can get a solution for him to try to play consistently and try to continue in his career with us or not."
What's happening with Harvey Elliott?
It's believed the "circumstance" in question is the transfer arrangement between Villa and Liverpool. Elliott joined Villa on a season-long loan deal on transfer deadline day, with the West Midlands club having an obligation to buy the player next summer for £35 million ($46.8 million).
Yet it later transpired that Villa will only have to honor that obligation when Elliott makes 10 appearances for Emery's team. Elliott quickly made five appearances for Villa but was dropped and hasn't featured for the first team in two months.
It's unclear whether Villa are trying to negotiate a lower transfer fee for Elliott or get rid of that obligation altogether. If an agreement cannot be reached, Elliott may need to finish the season without playing another minute or return to Liverpool in January.
And if he returns to Anfield next month, he cannot be loaned out again. That's because Elliott is only allowed to play for two clubs in the same season, as per FIFA's rules.
But if Salah leaves Liverpool, a window of opportunity might just open up for Elliott. The Egyptian has already made his feelings clear on the young Englishman; he wrote a touching message to his former teammate when he left Anfield three months ago.
"You’ll be remembered for your loyalty and dedication every time you were called upon," wrote Salah on Instagram. "You leave as a champion, and I’ve got no doubt you’ll do big things at your new club. They are lucky to have you."
Elliott hasn't yet done "big things" at Villa, but maybe he'll end up excelling at Anfield after all. It promises to be an intriguing few weeks for both Salah and Elliott.
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