Rio Ferdinand believes Harvey Elliott possesses a 'certain arrogance' which could enable the Liverpool midfielder to become an elite player.
The 19-year-old was selected to start in Saturday's Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, featuring alongside Fabinho and Fabio Carvalho in the middle of the pitch. This represented the fifth successive league match in which Elliott has represented the Reds from the off, having taken his chance with others in his position nursing injuries.
Elliott was on the scoresheet in Liverpool's 9-0 demolition of Bournemouth and has continued to grow in stature each time he steps out onto the pitch for Jurgen Klopp's side. One individual who has been left impressed by the rise of the teenager is Ferdinand, who heaped praise on the Fulham Academy graduate ahead of today's draw with Everton.
VERDICT: What Jordan Pickford did in final seconds of stoppage time doesn't tell full truth about Liverpool
PLAYER RATINGS: Alisson and Joe Gomez good but two stars poor against Everton
"You've got to think about playing well for your club, the other stuff will take care of itself. What I will say about him [Elliott], he's got a real, nice arrogance about him," the ex-Manchester United defender told BT Sport.
"I think all the top players have a certain amount of arrogance around them. He has that. He feels like he should be playing. He's a massive Liverpool fan himself, he and his family have followed the team for years.
"But this kid, I don't think he will be sitting there going 'Oh, I'm surprised I'm playing'. I think he's sitting there going 'I expect to play'. A bit more output in terms of assists and goals, and he will be on his way. But a tremendous talent."
Echoing this sentiment when speaking at a recent press conference was Klopp, who said: "When you see him playing you think 'wow for a 19-year-old...', but mostly it is all about the background and where he is coming from and how he was raised.
"Since he is here from the first day the players really took him under their wings. He didn’t get treated like a 17, 18 or now like a 19-year-old boy. That is why he is in the middle of everything, which is absolutely helpful.
"We all forgot how good he was a year ago and he was a year younger before all the rubbish things happened. That's the case, he is just that good. That's Harvey, a real talent but we all need luck in moments. Let’s just hope that he can go through this and develop and build on this wonderful basis."
READ NEXT:
- 'I don't think they have forgiven me' - Sweet revenge for Liverpool fan who lived his dream before joining Everton
- Jude Bellingham, Arthur Melo and how Liverpool midfield could look in 2023
-
Peter Walton explains why Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk avoided red card against Everton
-
Everton and Liverpool viewers notice BT Sport error during commentary
