Everything was set up. This was going to be Harvey Elliott’s breakthrough season with Liverpool.
After suffering a cruel injury last year, now was his time to shine. Liverpool’s injury problems in midfield, which have robbed Jurgen Klopp of Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Curtis Jones and, for a time, Thiago Alcantara, played into Elliott's hands.
While the 19-year-old midfielder always had the backing of his manager, now he also had the opportunity to start regularly and cement himself in the starting XI. The results have been intriguing – a mixture of clear talent, but also of the limitations that come with youth and inexperience.
Of course, Klopp was ready for this. “It was always obvious that he was a good footballer but taking the next steps was always going to be about using information and experiences to grow and this is exactly what Harvey is doing,” Klopp said in August after Elliott signed a new contract. “Now it is all about carrying on enjoying his football as much as we enjoy watching him develop.”
That development is happening, but it is also causing damaging knock-on effects during Liverpool’s ropey start to the season. Elliott has started six of Liverpool’s seven games in the Premier League and Champions League this season. So far, he has contributed plenty of exciting glimpses of his ability and one emotion-filled goal, in the 9-0 thrashing of Bournemouth.
As has been pointed out elsewhere, Elliott has contributed more in terms of pressing and key passes. The youngster played on the right of a front three during a brilliant loan spell at Blackburn Rovers in the 2020/21 season, so his tendency to drift from the centre of the pitch to the right is understandable.
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So is Elliott’s poor contribution to the ball-winning side of the game. He has been dribbled past nine times in the Premier League - the most of any Liverpool player. He has also made fewer tackles and interceptions than James Milner and Jordan Henderson, while he has won just 18.2 per cent of his attempted tackles.
That lack of bite in midfield has cost Liverpool this season. They’ve won just two Premier League matches, with the balance in midfield one of the most obvious problems. Graeme Souness, a world-class Liverpool midfielder in his playing days, recently discussed these clear issues.
“I do think there is room in that midfield for another high-intensity workaholic who can also deliver a cute pass,” he said. “Go back to Liverpool’s best midfield of three or four years ago. You had Gini Wijnaldum. Workaholic. James Milner. Workaholic. Jordan Henderson. Workaholic. Not the most gifted in terms of cute passing but relentless workers, all of them. The creativity was coming through the full-backs and the forwards.”
Adding another creative presence into the midfield three may have upset the previous balance Klopp enjoyed. Elliott is a fantastic talent who, along with Fabio Carvalho, appears to be the future of this Liverpool side. But it will take time and patience to find the perfect role for him – one that emphasises his talents and negates his weaknesses. In the meantime, Klopp may have to find a quick fix to help address Liverpool’s alarming slump.
