Harvey Elliott faces £40m transfer decision after reaching Liverpool crossroads

Harvey Elliott has been limited to just four starts at Liverpool by Arne Slot and he is facing a big decision in his career

Harvey Elliott will have much to ponder when he turns 22 on Friday.

He must have hoped for way more than just the four starts he has made this season for Liverpool and he has been one of the biggest losers under Arne Slot. Elliott has still weighed in with four goals and two assists, despite his bit-part role, and his late winner at Paris Saint Germain will live long in the memory.

Jurgen Klopp admitted near the end of his Liverpool reign that one regret he had was that he didn’t use Elliott more last season. The playmaker still made 27 starts under Klopp and contributed three goals and 10 assists to show his value to the team.

He was a proper wonderkid, becoming Fulham’s youngest player when he made his debut aged 15 years and 174 days in the League Cup in 2018. He made his debut for his beloved Liverpool the following year at 16 years and 174, also in the League Cup.

Elliott has been unlucky this season and he broke his foot on England Under-21 duty at the start of September, which ruled him out of action for two months. Instead of being able to challenge Dominik Szoboszlai for the No.10 role, he saw Curtis Jones overtake him and make his full England debut.

When Elliott was finally fit, Slot had his team in mind and his four starts under the Dutchman have all been in the cups. Elliott loves Liverpool, saying “this is my club, I’m a massive fan” and his aim over the run-in will be to try and convince Slot he deserves more game time.

But this summer will be a crucial one for him and his future. Elliott will be entering the final two years of his contract and Liverpool will open talks to avoid a repeat of this season’s nightmare scenario when they have been trying to hang on Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.

Elliott’s instincts will be to stay and he will back himself to force his way into Slot’s plans. But he must also contemplate, as unpalatable as it sounds now, could his career develop better somewhere else?

Elliott would be a Premier League regular for most other top-flight sides and the likes of Brighton are watching him closely. They could give him the platform he needs to step up and break into Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, especially with the 2026 World Cup at the end of next season.

He is not going to do that sitting on the bench at Anfield or playing in Champions League dead rubbers against PSV Eindhoven. Liverpool’s desire to keep Elliott could also be tested by a bid and they could get at least £40million for an English player of his age and talent.

This would greatly help Slot as he rebuilds and strengthens his champions elect and Liverpool look set for a busy summer. All this is in the future and Elliott has much thinking to do with his career at a fork in the road.

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