Harvey Elliott has broken his silence on his nightmare loan spell with Aston Villa, insisting he holds no ill will towards the club. The Liverpool midfielder is hoping the appointment of Andoni Iraola could revive his career on Merseyside, but admits his future remains uncertain.
Disappointing Loan Spell
Elliott moved to Villa on September 1 last year with a £35m obligation to buy if he made 10 appearances. However, after Monchi's departure as sporting director, Villa showed no intention of triggering the deal due to Premier League Profit and Sustainability Regulations concerns. Elliott featured for just 277 minutes across all competitions (110 in the Premier League), and his appearance for Liverpool in the closing seconds of a win over Newcastle ruled out a mid-season switch in January.
Villa attempted to negotiate to cancel the clause, leading head coach Unai Emery to call the situation "embarrassing" after Liverpool refused.
Elliott's Reflections
Speaking after Liverpool's 1-0 win over Wrexham in New York, Elliott said: "Truthfully, yes. Because I wanted a new challenge. I wanted to kind of go and explore something, come out of my comfort zone, that I thought personally that would take me on as a player again. Unfortunately, it didn't work out, but the way I see it is, that's last season now I'm here. It's kind of a second chance, if you want to call it."
He added: "Especially with the gaffer and new coaching staff coming in. It's another chance to impress, and hopefully get in their (good) books. But whatever happened last season, I wish Villa nothing but the very best, had a lot of love for them, and they treated me very, very well. Unfortunately, the situation happened, but It's another learning curve."
Elliott described the experience as mentally tough but said he has no hard feelings. "Mentally, it was a very tough one. As I said, it was a learning curve. It was an opportunity for me to experience something new. as much as I didn't want to do it, and I don't wish it upon any other player, because it's not nice at all, but I have no hard feelings."
He noted that Villa won the Europa League, calling it a "historical moment" and that being part of it was "another great situation."
Communication and Future
Elliott revealed that Unai Emery kept him informed about his lack of playing time. "He explained very, very clear and a fair few times. The whole club were very apologetic about the situation, and ultimately, it was a situation that I couldn't control."
On his future at Liverpool, Elliott said he needs to be cautious about his decisions. "I think I need to be more kind of cautious of my decisions. Ultimately, I'm still wanting to be selfish, within that aspect of doing what's right for me, and whether I'm staying here and fighting for my place, or whether that's potentially going elsewhere, I'm still unsure at this moment in time until I get some more intel."
Working Under Iraola
Elliott has started both pre-season games under new manager Andoni Iraola and praised him. "He's been incredible. Him and his coaches and his staff have been great. They've been very in detail of what they want to do and what they expect of us as players."
He added that he is focused on impressing on the pitch. "Right now, I'm just thinking about making sure I'm physically and mentally 100%, and trying to impress on the pitch."
