‘In decline’: PL rival claims Liverpool are currently starting a player who isn’t ready to play for them

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Harvey Elliott is not ready to be a regular starter for Liverpool and is being targeted by Premier League rivals.

That’s the insinuation made by an anonymous comment published in The i this morning. The source is introduced as a ‘Premier League rival who’s team recently played Liverpool.’ They then proceed to give their own analysis on the Reds’ struggles this season.

“They’ve tried to move into a new phase but the younger players they’ve bought or are trying to integrate like Harvey Elliot aren’t quite ready and the established, older players are probably slightly in decline,” they claim.

“In the long-term they’ll be alright because those younger players are very talented, but that’s probably not much comfort to them if they don’t make the Champions League.”

Time to give Harvey a break

This is an intriguing little nugget of information. Of course, we have no idea who the anonymous source is, and it’s perhaps only one person’s opinion.

But it does also chime with what a lot of Liverpool fans have been seeing from the team recently. As the source points out, Elliott is very talented. In the long-term he’ll be a good player for Liverpool.

Right now though, he’s something approaching a liability. That might sound harsh for a 19-year-old. But if he’s big enough to play in all 26 of Liverpool’s games this season, then he’s big enough to take the criticism.

On the ball, Elliott slots in nicely. He can be guilty of over-complicating things at times, but he can also unlock defences. As he did for Darwin Nunez’s recent goal against Southampton, he can play passes that others don’t see.

When the team is playing well, perhaps that’s enough. Jurgen Klopp has always preferred a more physical midfield though, and Elliott just doesn’t chime with that.

The youngster has not directly caused many, if any, of the goals Liverpool have conceded this season. However, it’s virtually certain that his inclusion is part of the reason why the Reds are constantly so easy to play through.

As a result, Elliott needs pulling out of this team. Not in a few weeks, not later in the season, right now. If only to protect his own confidence, that should be a no-brainer for Klopp.

Now that rival teams have started to pick up on Elliott’s weak link, the need to give him a break is more evident than ever.

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