Harvey Elliott is stuck in a rut at Aston Villa, who won’t play him due to a clause in the loan agreement with Liverpool, which Unai Emery has now publicly urged the club to remove
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has accused Liverpool of “damaging” Harvey Elliott, with the terms of his loan deal to blame for his wasted season. Elliott has barely featured on loan for Villa this season and Emery believes his hands are effectively tied by Liverpool’s demands.
The 22-year-old midfielder joined Villa on a season-long loan in September hoping to play regularly after struggling for game time during Liverpool’s Premier League-winning 2024/25 campaign. But his temporary switch to Villa has become a nightmare, with just seven appearances coming so far.
That is because Villa will have to fork out £35million to sign Elliott permanently should he reach 10 appearances this season. Emery has therefore left him on the sidelines, with a rare appearance against Red Bull Salzburg in a dead rubber Europa League game on January 29 his first game in three months.
The Villa manager sympathises with Elliott, who has remained professional, and has now publicly appealed to Liverpool to remove the obligation to buy clause in the loan agreement after months of talks behind the scenes didn’t have the desired effect.
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“I spoke with him. We have been fair because there are two ways: one way is a sport, the second is business,” Emery said on Friday ahead of Villa’s Premier League game against Bournemouth. “We’ll be fair in case, because we are trying it, and I told him, we are opening the door to play with us, because he can help us.
“But it’s not only in my way and on my side. The other side is Liverpool. If they take off the clauses to play matches and for us to buy him, (I said to him) ‘you are going to play here with us, it’s a sport decision.’ But now it’s a sport decision and a business decision. My sport decision is still there – ‘you are deserving to play, we need your qualities in the field, you are going to play.’
“But in case the clauses are still there, now it is Liverpool – they have the key. And I told him, it will be fair for him in case Liverpool take off this clause. We are speaking about it (taking off the clause) but not now. We started speaking about it three months ago. Of course, the transfer window finished on Monday.”
Liverpool refused to recall Elliott in the January transfer window and it seems unlikely that they will change their mind on the clause in the agreement. The England under-21 star’s Liverpool contract runs until June 2027, but a summer transfer appears on the cards once his Villa purgatory has ended.
“It will be fair for him, because he’s a calm guy, good guy, and he’s a fantastic professional. And then his qualities are there,” Emery added. “Of course he must play, and he’s really being patient. And I know we are damaging him, because we got a deal with Liverpool in the summer and the deal is there, and we are respecting the decision and taking the sporting decision responsibly from my side.
“It can change for him, in case Liverpool take off this clause. If they don’t want to, okay, but the player is getting damaged.”
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
