Harvey Elliott’s England credentials are surely too hard to ignore ahead of Euro 2024 – opinion
Harvey Elliott’s CV includes seven trophies with Liverpool and 117 appearances for the club, but his tally of senior England caps remains at zero.
Incredibly, the 21-year-old hasn’t even received a call-up from Gareth Southgate, who had no hesitation about fast-tracking Kobbie Mainoo into the Three Lions fold during the March international window.
However, if the England boss was paying attention to the Reds’ 4-2 win over Tottenham on Sunday, he must surely be contemplating a look at the young man in the number 19 shirt ahead of the European Championship next month.
Elliott’s show-stopping goal to make it 4-0 rightly grabbed the headlines, but there was so much more to his performance which suggested that he could be going to Germany with his national team rather than having to look for Euro 2024 tickets to witness the tournament in person.
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He claimed the assist for Cody Gakpo’s header at the weekend, and it was thanks to his determination to rob the dawdling Emerson Royal of possession close to the touchline at Anfield’s Main Stand side that he had the opportunity to set up the Dutchman for Liverpool’s third goal of the afternoon.
Four shots on target, 100% dribble success and five key passes also served to illustrate the 21-year-old’s overall brilliance against Spurs, a performance which was timed ideally with Euro 2024 rapidly approaching.
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If form at under-21 international level has any bearing on a senior manager’s thoughts, then Elliott must surely be in Southgate’s thinking for the squad who’ll be heading to Germany – his last six Young Lions caps have seen him rack up seven goals and four assists.
Granted, the paucity of some opponents may have been a contributory factor, but the Liverpool man still had to make his mark, and he most certainly did.
His sporadic starts at Anfield won’t make him a viable contender to be in Southgate’s plans for the first XI at Euro 2024, but with UEFA permitting 26-player squads for the second finals in a row, his prospects of making the cut are statistically improved.
It still needs the England manager to take a leap of faith and include Elliott for the friendlies against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland in early June before the squad for the Euros is named, but the 21-year-old’s case is becoming harder to ignore.
Liverpool’s number 19 certainly deserves a first cap next month, even if he doesn’t make the plane to Germany. If he misses out on the finals, at least he’ll have a few weeks to unwind before starting afresh in pre-season in July.
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