Harvey Elliott has opened up about the "great opportunity" he has to follow in Sadio Mane's footsteps after he was handed the No.19 shirt at Liverpool for the new season.
The Reds announced that the 19-year-old will wear the number having previously worn the No.67 shirt during his time at the club. The jersey was used by Mane throughout his first two seasons at Anfield before he decided to take the No.10 shirt. Mane joined Bayern Munich in a £35million deal last month - ending his six-year stay at the Reds following his move from Southampton.
Meanwhile, Elliott is entering into his fourth season as a senior professional at Liverpool despite still being a teenager. There was a leak that emerged on Twitter on Friday evening that Elliott could be replicating Lionel Messi's development by taking the No.19 shirt after the latter began his Barcelona career with that number.
The midfielder made the switch from Fulham in 2019 and has gone to make 20 appearances for the Reds, scoring once. He also spent a season on loan at Blackburn Rovers, where he directly contributed to 19 goals in 43 games.
After starting the last campaign with so much promise, Elliott suffered a broken ankle in the Reds' 3-0 win over Leeds United last September, which forced the player to miss the next three months of action. He struggled to force himself back into Jurgen Klopp's first-team plans but will be determined to get off to a fast start this term.
When speaking about the change in number, he told liverpoolfc.com: "Obviously the number became available, some great players have worn it in the past – the likes of Sadio and the list goes on. I think it was an opportunity to get down the ranks in terms of the numbers, and for me personally it's a wonderful number.
"I remember having a Sadio shirt with the number 19 on it as a kid. So to be able to wear it after him, it's a great pleasure.
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"At the end of the day, a number is just a number, but it's just nice to have a lower number. I think it's a great opportunity going into another season.
"So, hopefully, I can prove to myself and prove to everyone that I'm able to have these kind of numbers and able to perform under this kind of pressure, because it comes with it. I'm just so excited to put this shirt on and get playing again."
The last time the No.19 shirt was worn by a Liverpool player was when Ozan Kabak used it during his loan spell after he joined from Schalke for the second half of the 2020/21 season. Other notable players to don that jersey are Steven Caulker, Javier Manquillo and Stewart Downing.
