Harvey Elliott's loan at Valencia could be cut short, with the Spanish club expected to pursue a termination if the opportunity arises. The 23-year-old joined the La Liga side on a temporary basis in September but has played just 152 minutes in his first two months, mostly as a substitute.
Red card adds to difficult spell
His latest appearance against Villarreal ended in disappointment as he was sent off for two yellow cards in less than a minute. Valencia boss Javier Aguirre criticised the midfielder after the game, saying: "It's a ridiculous dismissal, and I told him as much. It's not his fault; the fault is mine, though I'll address it with him privately. Ultimately, the responsibility is mine, because I'm the one who decides who plays and how we play. The sending-off disrupted everything. We ended up playing an all-or-nothing, wide-open game."
Elliott, who apologised for his behaviour, is now suspended for the upcoming match away to Elche. Julian Burgos, a Valencia expert, told the Daily Mail that he does not expect Elliott to stay for the full loan spell.
Valencia's likely move
Burgos said: "At the moment, I don't think he has adapted… he has been a significant disappointment, especially considering he arrived with the pedigree of coming from Liverpool. It is true that he has been putting in the work over the last few weeks, and he appears to be in better physical shape."
He added: "Honestly, if the option to terminate the loan arises, Valencia will likely pursue it. With a new sporting director and manager – compounded by the team's poor form – it seems they will look to undo many of the moves made by the previous sporting director, the Scotsman Ron Gourlay. They need to free up space within the salary cap to make changes to the squad, so they will likely take any opportunity to cut ties with players brought in under the previous regime."
If Elliott returns to Anfield in January, he would be free to join another club on loan, having not made a competitive appearance for Liverpool this season.
Background and previous struggles
Shortly after Elliott's arrival at the Mestalla Stadium, Valencia underwent a major restructure, sacking head coach Carlos Corberan and sporting director Ron Gourlay. Corberan had been key to bringing Elliott in, but the midfielder still featured minimally due to fitness concerns. Valencia's only league win since he joined came in a match where he was an unused substitute.
This is the second difficult loan spell for Elliott, who played just 284 minutes in all competitions during his time at Aston Villa last season. Making 10 Premier League appearances would have triggered a £35million buy-option, but Unai Emery left him out of 17 matchday squads.
