By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com
However regardless of already making 128 appearances for the primary crew – thus triggering the vast majority of the clauses labored into the £4.3 million deal that introduced him from Fulham in 2019 – there’s a sense that he’s but to completely persuade Arne Slot.
With the Premier League’s midway level reached within the 2-2 draw with Manchester United, Elliott reached mid-season having solely began one recreation – that being the 2-1 win over Southampton within the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup in mid-December.
After that includes within the second-most video games of any Liverpool participant final season (53) and forcing Jürgen Klopp to admit he wished he’d began him extra typically, the 21-year-old has solely performed 9 occasions beneath Slot to this point.
Eight of these 9 appearances have come within the final 10 video games and within the seven of these outings that got here from the bench he averaged solely seven minutes on the pitch; his longest, at 16 minutes, got here when Liverpool had been already 4-0 up at West Ham.
That may, in fact, be partly defined by a fractured foot suffered in coaching with England’s under-21s in September, a difficulty which stored the playmaker out for 2 months.
However forward of a probable second begin of the season towards League Two strugglers Accrington Stanley within the FA Cup third spherical, it’s exhausting to flee the sensation that, if he had been to determine prominently in Slot’s plans, his reintegration would have been accelerated.
The Dutchman has successfully admitted as a lot, explaining of Elliott’s peripheral position at first of January: “Those which have performed quite a bit beneath me, it’s simpler to return again after an harm than those that didn’t as a result of those that performed beneath me, I do know what I can anticipate from them and I do know what they bring about to the crew.
“With those, for instance, Harvey, he was injured after two video games I feel. However he’s additionally in competitors with many good midfielders who’re doing rather well in order that makes it exhausting for him to get taking part in time in the intervening time.”
At face worth, it’s a cheap clarification, however there are facets that don’t precisely wash.
For starters, Elliott was a staple of Slot’s first pre-season accountable for the membership: no participant clocked extra minutes (290), made extra assists (two), created extra possibilities (9) or performed extra passes into the ultimate third (26).
It appeared all through Liverpool’s warmup schedule that the teenager may match seamlessly into the brand new head coach’s setup, with a extra pure No. 10 constructed into Slot’s nominal 4-3-3 form.
However the return of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch from summer time worldwide obligation, together with Elliott’s extended spell on the sidelines, have shunted the No. 19 down the pecking order; solely Curtis Jones, who was required to fill in as a deep-lying midfielder at first of the summer time, has damaged into that established unit.
Nevertheless, with Szoboszlai sidelined via sickness within the final two video games and Jones struggling towards each Manchester United (2-2 draw) and Tottenham (1-0 loss), that Slot nonetheless didn’t flip to Elliott could also be telling.
Slot solely made 4 modifications to his beginning lineup for the Carabao Cup semi-final opener at Tottenham on Wednesday night time, with Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas and Diogo Jota coming in, however he retained his midfield trio of Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Jones.
Even in a recreation of little high quality and definitely much less management than Liverpool normally get pleasure from, each Gravenberch and, most notably, Jones performed the complete 90 minutes – Mac Allister solely withdrawn after 80 minutes as Wataru Endo moved from centre-back to midfield.
Elliott spent an evening he could have been hoping to start out on the pitch as an unused substitute – the primary time in eight video games that he didn’t get the call-up, however maybe essentially the most vital event.
As a substitute Jones was left to toil away, secure in his passing (finishing 45 of 47, or 96%) however failing to create a single probability or try a shot on purpose, on an evening the place Liverpool actually wanted a spark to ascertain a lead going into the second leg at Anfield.
The go to of Accrington Stanley will virtually definitely be one for Liverpool’s second string, and Elliott’s standing amongst these is belying the distinctive potential he can provide as considered one of Slot’s No. 10s.
Although of shorter stature than both Szoboszlai or Jones and due to this fact missing the identical pure operating energy of Slot’s common choices in that superior position, that’s not to recommend that Elliott lacks the endeavour or off-ball grit required.
And extra importantly, he arguably gives extra thrust and, crucially, productiveness within the last third; admittedly his pattern dimension is small at simply 147 minutes this season, however he has averaged 7.14 shot-creating actions per 90 in that point.
In a distinct system and beneath a distinct supervisor final time period, Elliott averaged 4.72 shot-creating actions per 90 – just like Szoboszlai (4.74), significantly greater than Jones (2.77) and the sixth-most of Klopp’s common starters, the best being Luis Díaz (5.40).
Solely Mo Salah (14) and Darwin Núñez (13) assisted extra targets than Elliott final time period (11), which is probably the clearest indicator of what he can provide because the artistic outlet in Slot’s midfield.
That can little doubt have knowledgeable these golf equipment reportedly contemplating a transfer for the Englishman in January, with Sky Sports activities crediting each Dortmund and Brighton with curiosity in a deal.
However extra importantly it needs to be of paramount curiosity to Slot at Liverpool.
The hope is that that is merely a longer-term bedding-in course of and that the brand new head coach has not already determined a participant who has invested a lot into his life at Anfield just isn’t the profile of midfielder he wants.
“With the video games coming thick and quick, it’s now nearly practising the brand new fashion of play that we’ve discovered with the gaffer and the way we’re going to maintain making use of it in video games,” Elliott defined of his marginal position in a latest interview.
“It’s fully totally different to what we used to play earlier than, so it’s like when you’re performing, when you’ve acquired a present, you retain going over and rehearsing it and rehearsing your traces or your a part of the play.
“That’s type of what we’re doing in the intervening time. We simply maintain going time and again issues and ensuring we’re getting it to a tee, actually.”
Solely time will inform, beginning with Accrington Stanley on Saturday, however Elliott clearly deserves the chance to show on an even bigger platform why he has earned the nickname of Liverpool’s little diamond over again.
(Cowl picture from IMAGO)
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