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Unai Emery has confirmed Harvey Elliott will not definitely join Aston Villa on a permanent basis, and indicated he has spoken to the Liverpool loanee about the possibility of departing the club.
Elliott joined Villa on transfer deadline day, initially on loan, with the obligation to make the deal permanent if the 22-year-old participates in a certain number of games. Reports have indicated that number is 10.
That seemed a formality when he joined Villa – certainly Elliott thought so based on his farewell social media post. However, he has struggled to hold down a place in the team, making just five appearances so far, the last of which came on October 2.
Emery is clearly not convinced by the former Fulham man and chose to leave him in Birmingham for Thursday’s Europa League clash against Basel.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference, the Villa head coach said the club is searching for an alternative solution.
“We are speaking with him and about his situation. He is not here with us,” the Spaniard explained in Basel.
“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.”
“I have spoken with him two or three times about the situation we have with him,” he added.
“Firstly, my decision and also the situation. He is on loan playing with us, but he is not definitely adding to us with a permanent contract.”
The exact meaning of Emery’s words are unclear; whether he meant there is no chance of the player signing for Villa, or if him joining permanently is not a formality.
Either way, it seems increasingly unlikely that Elliott remains at Villa Park beyond January if he is not set to play a first-team role.
Based on FIFA rules, Elliott cannot represent a third team this season, having played for Liverpool in two of the opening fixtures and also featuring for Villa.
Therefore, a return to Liverpool would mean being reintegrated into Arne Slot’s first-team picture. The Dutchman was similarly unconvinced by Elliott last season, and he did not start a single Premier League match until the Reds won the title in April.
Asked last week whether he had spoken to the midfielder during his time at Villa, Slot replied: “I haven’t had contact with him a lot, I think only once or twice, and that was before he played Feyenoord away and after.e3
“But that had more to do with him playing against a former club of mine, so no, I haven’t spoken to him.
“I am aware of his situation, of course. I knew how difficult it already was for him over here, so I think I know how he feels at this moment, but you should ask those questions at Villa, and not over here when it’s about his playing time.”
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