Elliott has made no secret of his desire to take a step forward in his career and that meant leaving Anfield for more minutes, which has not happened at Villa Park so far.
He signed an initial loan deal on deadline day, with a permanent transfer set to take effect once he made ten appearances. However, Unai Emery has put Elliott aside.
With just two starts and no 90-minute appearances, we got some insight into Elliott from Villa fan, freelance broadcaster and host of All Villa No Filler podcast Frankie Maguire (@FrankieMaguire).
What was the reaction when Villa signed Harvey Elliott on deadline day?
Aston Villa had endured a difficult transfer window, with UEFA spending restrictions preventing the club from doing much business.
Signing Harvey Elliott on deadline day felt like a shot in the arm.
Given his experience, quality and recent performances with the England squad over the summer, he was a player many of us were looking forward to seeing in a Villa shirt.
He’s not doing well so far, he hasn’t played a minute since the beginning of October – why is that?
It’s a mystery. Perhaps Unai Emery would prefer to use the reported £30m commitment elsewhere in the squad, given Villa are so strong in the central areas in which Elliott often operates.
The unexpected rejuvenation of Emi Buendia may also have had some influence on Emery’s thinking.
To be fair, the current situation does not brilliantly reflect Villa’s late transfer window, despite how challenging the summer has been.
He came in as a number 10 option, with Liverpool also deploying him out wide, but would Emery consider him in another role – if so, which one?
Elliott played the number 10 role every time he played for Villa. He started a Premier League match against Fulham as a number 10 but was withdrawn at half-time as he struggled to make an impact.
The number 10 role at Villa is a specialized one and the likes of Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers and previously Marco Asensio have all excelled in it.
The quality of the names mentioned shows how strong the competition for that role is.
Elliott could feature on the right for Villa, where his main competition would be Evann Guessand, another new signing who has struggled to get going.
Does Elliott’s treatment raise questions about the club’s recruitment and is Emery on a different page when it comes to transfers?
Villa’s recruitment has been good in recent years as the club has operated under challenging SCR/PSR restrictions to try and compete at the top.
Given his proven abilities, Elliott’s signing feels like it should work and it’s a mystery why it doesn’t.
It has been reported that Unai Emery wanted West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta as his new number 10, so Elliott may not have been his priority, while former sporting director Monchi may have felt he needed to bring someone in on transfer deadline day. Maybe we’ll find out eventually.
Is there anything else you can tell us about Elliott’s current situation?
He appeared in the club’s recent Christmas advert and that’s as much as we’ve seen from him recently!
Is there a possibility that he will not reach the ten points to activate his permanent transfer?
There is a very good possibility that he won’t. He is never part of the match selection again, which speaks volumes.
Finally, given the demands of Emery’s system, what would Elliott need to change or do to earn a consistent place in the side?
It’s hard to answer without knowing what Emery really thinks about Elliott.
Personally, I have always thought Elliott was a great talent. My only observation when he played briefly for Villa was that he didn’t have much speed, although Tielemans and Buendia aren’t the fastest either.
He seemed to struggle in the number 10 role against Fulham and knew exactly who to link up with (although of course it will always take time to adapt).
If he can develop quickly in that role, knowing when to move the ball quicker and when to retain possession, he may have a future at Villa.
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