‘Hurtling towards a black hole’ – Journalist rages over ‘humiliating’ treatment of Harvey Elliott

Having won the Premier League with Liverpool and a second successive European Under-21 Championship with England last year, Harvey Elliott could hardly have been in a better place football-wise…or so it seemed.

Since leaving his beloved Reds for Aston Villa at the end of the summer, the 22-year-old has made just five appearances in the Midlands, half the total which’d see his loan move to Villa Park become permanent, and he hasn’t kicked a ball competitively since 2 October.

Unai Emery has openly stated that the attacking midfielder doesn’t fit the bill for him, while Arne Slot has shrugged off questions about an Anfield recall for the player by intimating that it’s now Villa’s problem to resolve.

Jeremy Cross fumes over ‘disgraceful’ treament of Elliott

With Elliott’s career left in limbo, Daily Star writer Jeremy Cross has let rip about the ‘disgraceful’ manner in which such a talented footballer has been discarded by two clubs.

He wrote: ‘People talk about the great job Emery has done at Villa, and he has…but one thing he has got badly wrong is his handling of a wonderful talent like Elliott.

‘Emery even had the brass neck to publicly state part of the problem was that if Elliott made so many appearances (10), Villa would have to make the deal permanent. So that makes it okay for a manager to just dump a player in the skip then, does it?

‘To make matters even more humiliating for all concerned, Emery suggested at the start of last month Elliott could be picked again, due to the demanding run of fixtures.

‘Instead, Elliott’s only appearance was in a Christmas video on the big screens at Villa Park. He was pushing a laundry trolley at the Bodymoor Heath training ground, while wearing a festive jumper. In short, he was being humiliated. Again.’

Cross continued: ‘Which brain boxes thought this was a good move for Elliott, when discussing his future last summer? Emery’s treatment of Elliott has been disgraceful.

‘Had things been different, Elliott could have been looking forward to a chance of being in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad in a few months time. Just like his former U21 team-mate Elliot Anderson is.

‘Instead, he is hurtling towards a black hole, facing up to the prospect of having an entire season taken from his career. Liverpool don’t want him back, while Villa don’t want him now.’

Elliott has been treated atrociously by two head coaches

Cross’ ire over the treatment of Elliott at Villa Park will be shared by many Reds supporters who must feel dismayed over how the 22-year-old has been cast aside by both Slot and Emery.

His sparsity of starts at Liverpool last season made it clear that the Dutchman saw him as a peripheral figure, and a well-chosen loan move might’ve given him a chance to prove the LFC boss wrong this term.

Instead, he’s been left idle in the Midlands, and having already played for two clubs in the 2025/26 campaign, regulations preventing him from representing another have severely hampered his options in terms of being loaned elsewhere.

Elliott hasn’t even made the bench for Villa in nearly two months, and when Emery’s team were in need of a goal against Everton on Sunday after going 1-0 down, the only attacking substitute to whom he could turn (but didn’t) was Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, a 19-year-old who’s played just five senior games.

It’s been less than a year since the Liverpool-owned attacker scored a late winning goal away to eventual Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. That his career has been left to deteriorate so rapidly since then is shameful to see, and hopefully at some stage in 2026, he’ll find himself at a club where his talents are appreciated.

You can watch Slot’s full post-Burnley press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:

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