Two positions and two world-class partnerships: What Harvey Elliott’s future looks like after his new contract

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Liverpool confirmed on Thursday that Harvey Elliott has signed a new contract with the club. Here’s what his future now looks like.

Harvey Elliott is sticking around at Liverpool for a long time to come. The club announced his new contract on Thursday, with the player admitting he wants to finish his career at Anfield. That’s quite the statement from a 19-year-old.

Liverpool have moved to tie him down because they see a bright future with Elliott, of course. That starts immediately, with the teenager likely playing a significant role this season. But just what does his future look like?

We see Elliott achieving quite a lot over the next few years, including two positions and two fantastic partnerships.

Harvey Elliott signs a new Liverpool contract

Elliott initially entered senior football as a right-sided midfielder or winger. Jurgen Klopp made an interesting change last season, however, as he moved the teenager inside to play centrally in a midfield three.

It was a fantastic idea, in all truth. Elliott excels at progressing the ball and playing in midfield gives him a bit more freedom to do that. He’s able to move into more areas than if Liverpool kept him out wide.

But it also brings another interesting development. We saw the Reds work a really dangerous ‘triple-threat’ last summer, with Elliott switching positions from midfield.

He’d drift wide as Trent Alexander-Arnold or Mohamed Salah moved central, allowing the three of them to constantly interchange. All three are wonderfully creative players, able to hurt teams from various areas. As a trio that switches position with one another, they become almost impossible to mark.

And that’s why Elliott won’t be tied to midfield. When playing the role, he spends just as much time on the flank and he’ll almost certainly be cover for Salah over the next few years. Liverpool have rather conspicuously avoided signing any natural cover for the Egyptian, after all.

Thus that partnership with Alexander-Arnold, in particular, is one Liverpool will grow over the next few years. Elliott’s ability to swap positions with him means the Scouser is never stuck at right-back. If Elliott is in the middle, Alexander-Arnold can drift inside. If Elliott is on the wing, Alexander-Arnold can push on, knowing his teammate will cover him.

Darwin Nunez

But it’s not the only partnership we see brewing. Liverpool made a move away from a False 9 this summer, with Darwin Nunez arriving from Benfica. His finishing and movement make him the ideal target for creative players – someone like Elliott, in other words.

While Salah is a goalscoring winger, Elliott instead likes to feed a target-man when he’s playing out wide. He is exactly the kind of player Nunez wants.

Similarly, we see Liverpool using attacking midfielders more with Nunez up top. They’ll be the ones who need to progress the ball and move between the lines. Again, Elliott is the ideal player for that and we’re already seeing Klopp nurture a combination with Nunez.

Elliott’s future looks incredibly bright, then. Not only is he a wonderfully talented player in his own right but he fits so naturally well alongside Liverpool’s best young players. We simply cannot wait to see what Elliott brings over the next few years.