Harvey Elliott looks destined to be a superstar. The Liverpool wonderkid is showing off a rare trait at just 18.
There are a lot of reasons to believe Harvey Elliott can become a superstar. Far more than most, certainly.
Just take his season with Blackburn Rovers, for instance. This was Elliott’s first full senior season and he delivered on a level few in the division could match.
His 11 assists were enough for joint-third in the Championship. Only Emiliano Buendia and Michael Olise beat that, with Harry Wilson matching it.
But Buendia and Wilson are both six years older than Elliott. They’re far more experienced players having played seasons in the Premier League and several in the Championship.
Yet this was the level Elliott played at. Now was he as good as Buendia or Olise? No, he wasn’t. But Elliott kept up with them despite his inexperience and despite playing in a fairly poor Blackburn side.
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Altogether, it was an outstanding season and one Elliott can take great pride in. And yet, what’s come after is arguably even better.
Harvey Elliot: Superstar in the making
Elliott has given a few interviews since returning to Liverpool for pre-season. The way he talks about himself is highly promising.
As we covered here, his response to last season was ‘yes it went well but I can do better’. It’s incredibly self-awareness from a teenager. Confidence mixed with realism.
And then he came out with this on Friday about wanting to get into the Liverpool team next season:
“If you look at the team, it is superstars really,” he told Liverpoolfc.com. “All fantastic players, so it is going to be hard but in football you always have challenges and it’s just how you deal with it, how you rise above them and how you better yourself.
“I am looking forward to the challenge, I am looking forward to the competitiveness and I am looking forward to hopefully getting minutes here and there.”
An 18-year-old wanting to take on the challenge of breaking into one of the world’s best teams is incredible confidence. Yet Elliott also shows off the self-awareness that there’s no rush and that it’ll be very difficult – he’s just after some minutes, after all.
Elliott is proving to have a fantastic head on his shoulders. He’s got the confidence to back up his talent but the intelligence to know exactly where he stands and the work that comes ahead.
It’s a trait that you rarely see in youngsters. This maturity usually comes far later and you often see talented kids making moves too soon or too slowly.
But he’s not going to be a youngster who shows flashes of brilliance but never develops. Nor is he going to be someone who doesn’t take chances given to him.
Elliott won’t sink at Liverpool – he’ll swim. He’s got the talent and knows what it takes. Put it all together and there’s a superstar in the making.