Liverpool youngster Harvey Elliott ‘wouldn’t have been seen’ this season had Jurgen Klopp brought in a new midfielder.
That’s according to TalkSPORT pundit Danny Murphy. Speaking on the radio station yesterday, Murphy claimed that Elliott wouldn’t have played for Liverpool had a big midfield signing arrived.
“Ideally you give him [Klopp] a load of money to go and get another one, but then that stunts the growth of somebody like Harvey Elliott or [Fabio] Carvalho,” said the former Liverpool player.
“Harvey Elliott we wouldn’t have seen if you keep buying £30m, £50m midfielders, where do you stop with that? Do you want Liverpool to become Man City? They can’t, they have to do things a different way.”
Elliott taking on a key role
It’s probably true to say that Elliott would have been seen less had Liverpool brought in a big first team signing.
But perhaps that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. The 19-year-old has so far started all but two of The Reds games this season. As the team struggle to get going, that’s a lot of pressure to put on him.
As others around him have fallen off alarmingly, Elliott hasn’t been especially bad in that time. He’s had moments of real quality, but he’s also gone missing a fair bit, too.
At such a young age, that’s understandable, he’s still developing. As he does, there really is no need for him to be playing in every single game for this Liverpool team.
Instead, it would possibly be better for his development to play a part in every other game. There are plenty of examples of young players being given too much responsibility too young. Liverpool should be wary of taking that route with Elliott.
Hey, Arthur…
Of course, Murphy is ignoring the fact that in the end, Klopp actually did decide to bring in a midfielder. But as things stand, Elliott is probably ahead of Arthur in the manager’s plans.
It would be a bonus if the Brazilian was anything other than a stopgap, get-a-body-in type signing. As a result, it’s unlikely that he’ll displace Elliott, or even Carvalho.
Most fans will be delighted to see both Elliott and Carvalho given chances early in the season. But the fact remains that neither have looked capable to – or should be expected to – put a stop to Liverpool’s poor form. A new midfielder or two is still desperately needed.
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