Harvey Elliott has been told to hold a meeting with Liverpool manager Arne Slot to discuss his future at the club, with the 22-year-old's path to the first team being blocked by Mohamed Salah
Harvey Elliott has been advised to hold showdown talks with Arne Slot to clarify his Liverpool future. With transfer deadline day looming, ex-Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray highlighted the "elephant in the room" for Elliott: that Mohamed Salah is blocking his route into the first team.
Elliott's future has been up in the air this summer, with the 22-year-old enjoying less playing time under Slot than his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp. He made only 18 Premier League appearances last season during Slot's maiden title-winning campaign, mostly from the substitutes' bench, which solidified his role as a backup under the Dutch manager.
That has alerted other clubs to his potential availability, with both West Ham and RB Leipzig reportedly interested in acquiring the attacking midfielder’s services. The Bundesliga side are said to see him as a replacement for Xavi Simons, who joined Tottenham this week.
The ECHO reports Liverpool will reject any late bids for the playmaker this summer. But even so, the player is unlikely to be happy with his lack of involvement so far this season.
He has played just seven minutes of football: six minutes in the Community Shield loss to Crystal Palace and one minute against Newcastle, where he contributed in the build-up to Rio Ngumoha's dramatic winner.
Mowbray, who briefly managed Elliott during his loan spell at Blackburn in the 2020/21 season, is certain of the player's exceptional talent. The 61-year-old believes Elliott should be getting regular game time at Liverpool; otherwise, he should express his desire to leave to Slot.
When asked if the winger should consider leaving on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Mowbray said: “If I was going to advise Harvey, I would say he needs to talk to his manager. I think it’s a waste of talent, sitting on the bench. I watched the game against Newcastle and I saw he came on right at the death there.
“He’s an amazing talent. He’s got unbelievable quality. He’s one of these lads that doesn’t have to look at the ball, he knows what he’s doing - the ball’s a part of him. It’s so easy for him. He impacts the game every time he comes onto the pitch.”
Mowbray pointed out Elliott's main challenge, stating: “The problem for him is that his best position is probably off the right in the attacking area, which is also Mo Salah’s best position. So there’s a huge elephant in the room for him, really. He might be thinking, ‘How long is Salah going to stay?’
“He’s got a personality as well. I think he’s got a winning mentality. It’s a big, big call for him, what’s next. The years start rolling by and it’s okay being a bit-part player at Liverpool but… maybe he’s waiting for Salah to move on, I don’t know.”
Another former Premier League boss, Sam Allardyce, interjected: “He should know whether the manager fancies him or not. It’s not difficult. He needs to balance out how much he played for Jurgen Klopp and how much he’s going to play for Slot.
“If being a squad player’s good enough for him and he wants to stay at Liverpool, fine. If it’s not good enough for him, the games he’s going to play between now and the January transfer window should tell him whether he should be staying at Liverpool or whether he should leave.”
Elliott starred for the England U-21s earlier this summer, winning the European Championship once more and earning the player of the tournament honour.
He has since been open about his situation at Liverpool, revealing to The Anfield Wrap whilst on tour in Asia: "If I had it my way, I would be here for the rest of my career, it's as simple as that.
"I love everything about the club, but at the same time I kind of need to be selfish and see what's best for me. I have big ambitions. I want to get in the World Cup squad. I want to keep being successful as a player. It's something I still need to review."
A move to RB Leipzig would see Elliott link up again with former Liverpool manager Klopp, who now serves as Red Bull's head of global football. Following his departure from Liverpool last summer, Klopp confessed his sole regret from his final campaign was not handing Elliott enough playing time, admitting: "But if I regret one thing a little bit, it's that Harvey didn't play often enough maybe.
"Because in a very important, intense period – January, a lot of injuries - he played really good. He was probably our best player, right wing, right midfield, all these kinds of things."