Such is the strength of Liverpool’s squad these days, players who might have forced their way into the starting XI in previous, less-successful eras are now finding themselves stuck on the periphery.
Harvey Elliott, if he had been born say a decade earlier, would maybe have a couple of hundred Liverpool appearances under his belt, having established himself as a regular across multiple eras at Anfield.
Instead, a la Sepp van den Berg, Takumi Minamino, Neco Williams and many other players who have gone on to carve out very respectable careers away from Merseyside, Elliott may already be approaching a crossroads in his young career.
Arne Slot is a fan of the ‘talented’ Elliott.
But, after a three-month injury lay-off limited his involvement early on in the Dutchman’s tenure, by the time Elliott returned to action he had fallen well behind Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones in the pecking order.
Mo Salah’s contract extension, meanwhile, sees the evergreen Egyptian keep the right-wing position under lock and key for another couple of years.
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott is a target for Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen
According to the Daily Mail’s Merseyside reporter Lewis Steele, England Under-21 international Elliott is on the radars of Brighton and Hove Albion and AFC Bournemouth.
Two famously well-run outfits who’s modern, possession-heavy football feels like a very neat fit for a footballer of Elliott’s technical qualities.
There is further interest from across the Channel. The Mail say that Borussia Dortmund could look to help Elliott follow in the footsteps of compatriots Jadon Sancho, Jude Bellingham and Jamie Gittens. Perhaps the most intriguing link, however, is with Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen outfit.
Liverpool icon Alonso has Leverkusen playing some of the most attractive, front-foot football in Europe. If this is indeed the summer when the mesmerising Florian Wirtz says his goodbyes, could Elliott be handed the admittedly rather unenviable task of replacing the potentially irreplaceable?
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo on Wednesday, Harvey Elliott explained that his priority is to stay with Liverpool for the foreseeable future. He knows, however, that the final call will lie with Arne Slot.
“I hope that I can push on [next season],” the former Fulham starlet tells the Liverpool Echo. “This is my team. I am committed to them and it’s just a situation that is always going to have a lot of talk. I just need to think about what is best for my future, my career and as much as I want it to be here.
“If I had it my way, I would play each and every game here and stay here for the rest of my career but it all depends on managers, the people above and as I said you don’t know what could happen.
“But, as far as I am aware, I am here, here to stay, and this is the club I want to be at.”
Lewis Koumas and Owen Beck wanted by Sheffield United
Bournemouth like Coaimhin Kelleher and Ben Doak too.
Doak was a revelation on loan at Middlesbrough until an injury in January cut his season short. Liverpool are expected to retain the one-time Celtic wonderkid, however, with the idea of potentially moulding him into Salah’s long-term successor.
The similarly prodigious Lewis Koumas and Owen Beck, meanwhile, are on the radar of Sheffield United. Koumas has been a lively presence in Stoke City’s attack this term while left-back Doak has added considerable first-team experience on loan at Blackburn Rovers.
Chris Wilder’s Blades could offer the duo the chance to impress in the Premier League should they escape the play-offs.
With his 23rd birthday coming up in October, meanwhile, the silky Tyler Morton is set to outgrow the small pond of academy football.
The former Hull City and Blackburn loanee did not play a single minute of Premier League football under Slot, and the time feels right for a decision to be made regarding his long-term future.
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