Premier League legend Alan Smith has issued stern advice to Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott after a difficult start at Villa Park.
Aston Villa signed the England Under-21 international on transfer deadline day, handing him an initial loan deal with a widely reported purchase obligation for a fee of around £30 million.
It is understood that if Elliott reaches a certain number of appearances, Villa will have to sign him permanently. While that seems positive for a player of Elliott’s quality and potential, Villa manager Unai Emery has been reluctant to use him this season so far.
Elliott’s future at Villa has been in doubt in the eyes of some observers, but Emery’s public comments about the 22-year-old have infused implicit criticism with outright praise.
Nevertheless, the media are asking more and more questions about the situation and there are plenty of opinions.
Former Arsenal striker Smith has added his voice to the conversation, urging patience on the part of a talented young footballer, but also raising the not-insignificant question of where Elliott would actually fit into Villa’s line-up.
“I’m a little surprised he hasn’t started yet,” Smith said BestBettingSites.co.uk.
“I think he’s just started the League Cup game, and he’s started another one, but he came out at half-time. But you wonder what his position is and where he could fit in that team.”
‘Things are not going as well as he had hoped’
“He’s not going to displace Morgan Rogers or John McGinn. Evann Guess and the winger haven’t done well at all. But Elliott is not that type of player. He’s not really a wide man with speed.”
“So it probably hasn’t gone as well as he would have hoped at this point. And now Villa is of course back on the road and winning games again. So he may have to stay on the bench for a little longer.”
Elliott has started just one Premier League game and has played just 90 minutes in three league matches.
He was an unused substitute in four games in the Premier League and Europa League – playing just four minutes in the latter – but started and scored in Villa’s Carabao Cup third round tie against Brentford.
The Liverpool loanee was left out of the squad entirely for the first time on Sunday ahead of Villa’s Premier League victory over Manchester City.
Smith joined Leicester City from Alvechurch in 1982 and went on to make more than 250 First Division and Premier League appearances for Arsenal, winning the league title with the Gunners in 1989 and 1991.
Now 62, Smith scored twice in 13 senior games for England under Bobby Robson and former Villa manager Graham Taylor in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
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