According to The Pitch Prospect, Aston Villa and Liverpool could scrap the signing clause in Harvey Elliott’s loan deal.
Big things were expected of the 22-year-old after he joined the Midlands on a season-long loan from the Reds last summer.
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The loan includes a commitment for the Villans to convert his temporary stay into a permanent move worth £35m if he makes ten Premier League appearances.
Currently, Elliott has only featured in four top-flight games under Unai Emery.
Things looked promising for the two-time U21 European champion after featuring in the first three games he was available for.
But then he was supported by Villa, initially had to sit on the bench for two games in a row and was then completely left out of the matchday squad.
His lack of playing time led to speculation that Liverpool could cut short his loan spell mid-season.
MLS club Charlotte FC was ready to offer the attacking midfielder a way out of his Villa nightmare with another loan deal.
With Elliott having already featured for Liverpool this season, FIFA rules made it impossible for him to play for another team in Europe – opening the door to a possible move to the US.
Despite Elliott’s unwillingness to prove himself in America, and with the Reds unwilling to welcome him back into their squad, he ended up staying at Villa Park.
Elliott returned from the wilderness to play the full game of Villa’s 3-2 win over Red Bull Salzburg in the Europa League last week, followed by a cameo in the 1-0 defeat to Brentford – his first league game since September.
And The Pitch Prospect correspondent Ben Jacobs has hinted that more appearances could be on the cards as talks take place between Villa and Liverpool over the possible release of his signing clause.
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This would allow Elliott to showcase his talent and Liverpool will be hoping his market value does not fall ahead of a potential summer sale.
Regarding Elliott’s situation during his appearance on the Hawksbee and Jacobs show on Tuesday, Jacobs said, “He can’t be loaned out somewhere else.”
“However, there has been interest from Charlotte FC to do a loan deal and that is the only exception: if it is a season that actually starts and is not on the same calendar as much of Europe, then it will be considered different.”
“Because the MLS season is considered next season while the European leagues are all in the same season.
“So Harvey Elliott chose Liverpool and Aston Villa so he can’t move to another European club, but Charlotte FC was an example of where he could have gone and yet Elliott didn’t want to go.”
“Now I think what you could see outside the window is Liverpool and Aston Villa easing the conditions and that is possible even if the window is closed.”
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“And in this particular scenario it’s not about whether Villa play a few more games for him, it’s about them having to buy him.”
“If Liverpool know they won’t buy him, maybe to give the player game time, put him in the window and make him more marketable in the summer.”
“What they will do is change the purchase commitment and add an addition that may simply make it an outright purchase option or perhaps add more appearances until the end of the season before committing Villa to purchase.”
“So don’t be surprised if there are discussions between clubs to give Harvey Elliott the opportunity to play more for Aston Villa without Villa being obliged to buy him.”
“And the reason why Emery doesn’t want the player [it’s] nothing personal.
“He trains hard, but it was a monchi [ex-President of Football Operations] Signing.
“Monchi left and then Emi Brendia comes back and does great. So of course Harvey Elliott falls further down the pecking order.”
Having played back-to-back games in all competitions, Elliott will now look to make his eighth Villa appearance this season.
Third-placed Villa travel to Bournemouth on Saturday having won their last four league games.
This loss of form has seen the club fall to seven points behind leaders Arsenal, while fourth-placed Manchester United are now five points behind.