Arne Slot has been very dismissive with his approach in the treatment of Harvey Elliott at Liverpool. The Englishman scored a stunning winner to help his side get a 1-0 win against PSG in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie.
But the reality is that he hasn’t featured as a regular at Liverpool in the 2024/25 season. The Dutchman has not really warned up to Elliott, who doesn’t even feature among the top-20 Liverpool players in terms of most minutes played at Anfield this season.
Elliott has been restricted to only 18 appearances, playing 507 minutes of football. In comparison, even the likes of Jarrel Quansah, Wataru Endo and Joe Gomez have gotten more playing time.
So it wouldn’t be surprising at all if the 23-year-old midfielder grows in frustration over his role at Anfield.
As per Football Insider, Elliott is unhappy with his current role at Liverpool and could look to leave the club to get more regular playing time elsewhere.
Former Manchester United scout Mick Brown has heard murmurs of the Englishman becoming frustrated with his role in Slot’s system.
Brown told Football Insider: “But from his point of view, I’m told he’s not happy just playing a bit-part role. In that case, he might be looking for a move away where he can play regular football.
“He’s good enough to play in the starting XI for a lot of clubs, but he’s going through a spell where he’s finding it difficult to get more involvement at Liverpool.
“I wouldn’t be surprised whatever happens with him because he’s highly-rated there and they won’t want him to leave. The problem is, I don’t think they can give him the playing time he wants at the moment.”
Elliott has had his share of injury troubles in the 2024/25 season. He missed 14 matches for Liverpool after sustaining a fractured foot in September (2024).
Arne Slot had indicated that he could’ve gotten more playing time under him during that September-October period ‘if he stayed fit’.
It was Elliott’s injury that caused him to fall down in the pecking order at Anfield.
The 21-year-old has five goals and one assist in 17 appearances, which includes three goals in the UEFA Champions League. After the win over PSG, Slot admitted that ‘I can understand that he is sometimes frustrated by the playing time he gets because he is a good player,’ but also warned Elliott is competing for places where he can hardly take off other players.
The Englishman hasn’t started a single match in the 2024/25 Premier League and might be forced to go elsewhere for regular playing time at the top level.
