Harvey Elliott's new shirt number has seemingly leaked online - with the Liverpool starlet set to follow in Lionel Messi's footsteps by donning the No.19.
The talented teenager had looked set to enjoy a breakthrough campaign under Jurgen Klopp last year before he suffered a horror injury back in September. Elliott was staking a claim for a first-team spot after a stunning spell on loan in the Championship at Blackburn Rovers the year before, but the 19-year-old spent almost five months on the shelf after dislocating his ankle against Leeds.
After returning towards the back end of last season, big things are expected from Elliott this summer - and it appears as though the former Fulham youngster could be handed a brand new number for the 2022/23 Premier League campaign.
A new claim from Twitter has outlined that Elliott has been handed the No.19 shirt this term - the same number that Messi adopted at Barcelona. The Argentine superstar also donned the No.19 as his second number after he broke into the Barcelona team as a teenager wearing the No.30 shirt.
After missing out on a huge chunk of action last year due to his injury, Elliott will once again be given a chance to nail down a regular first-team slot by Klopp this year, with The Athletic reporting that the midfielder is 'expected to play a much bigger role' in the upcoming season.
Despite strengthening elsewhere this summer, Klopp is reportedly not planning to bolster his midfield options, with the Reds expected to make a move for Jude Bellingham next summer; opening the door for Elliott to feature more prominently in the middle of the park. The report also confirms that Elliott would have been 'heavily involved' last term had he not suffered the gruesome ankle injury at Elland Road.
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After months of rehab, Elliott made a dream return to action in February, when he bagged his first Reds goal just 18 minutes after he was introduced as a second-half substitute in the 3-1 win over Cardiff City in the FA Cup.
Klopp hailed Elliott's goalscoring return as a 'fairytale' and reserved special praise for the Reds starlet following his remarkable recovery. He said: “There are so many things to do in this long period, you can do a lot of wrong things and luckily he did a lot right. He is still a fearless boy and a great footballer. When you are that young you deal with it better. Even on the first day, he was pretty much on the way back.
“Probably his biggest talent is how ready he is mentally for all the things out there. He is a kid but on the pitch not so much. He was buzzing and waiting for this moment. When he got the injury, I saw him two days later at the training ground and I was in a worse mood than he was. He was saying, ‘Come on, boss, head up.’ He is an exceptional talent in a lot of departments.”
