Harvey Elliott joined Aston Villa on loan from Liverpool last summer, but has only made nine appearances after being frozen out by Unai Emery
20:57, 14 May 2026Updated 21:06, 14 May 2026
Harvey Elliott is on loan at Aston Villa from Liverpool(Image: (Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images))
Unai Emery has admitted Harvey Elliott’s wasted loan at Aston Villa this season has been ’embarrassing for everyone involved’. Elliott joined Villa from Liverpool on transfer deadline day on a season-long loan, with an obligation to buy conditional on appearances.
But the midfielder has only made just four Premier League appearances, with Emery opting against playing him to avoid triggering the £35m permanent deal option that would have been activated if he had made 10 league appearances. That has left Elliott in limbo, as, having played for the Reds and Villa this campaign, he could not play for another European club this season.
And ahead of Villa’s final home game of the season against Elliott’s parent club on Friday night, Emery was asked about Elliott, with him admitting: “To now explain about the reason for this decision is very difficult, or it is easy, but it is not the moment.
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“Of course, it is something embarrassing for everyone involved. My apologies for Harvey Elliott is every day in my mind. But it is [about] responsibility. We have our responsibility and Liverpool have their responsibility.
“It is something, as a human and as a person, how the season has gone has been difficult.”
Emery spoke about his decision not to play Elliott back in February, as he moved to avoid paying a permanent fee for him.
“I spoke with him. We have been fair because there are two ways: one way is a sport, the second is business,” the Villa boss said.
“We’ll be fair in case, because we are trying it, and I told him, we are opening the door to play with us, because he can help us.
“But it’s not only in my way and on my side. The other side is Liverpool. If they take off the clauses to play matches and for us to buy him, (I said to him) ‘You are going to play here with us, it’s a sport decision.’
“But now it’s a sport decision and a business decision. My sport decision is still there, ‘You are deserving to play, we need your qualities in the field, you are going to play.’ But in case the clauses are still there, now it is Liverpool – they have the key.
“And I told him, it will be fair for him in case Liverpool take off this clause. We are speaking about it (taking off the clause), but not (just) now. We started speaking about it three months ago. Of course, the transfer window finished on Monday.
“It will be fair for him, because he’s a calm guy, good guy, and he’s a fantastic professional. And then his qualities are there.
“Of course, he must play, and he’s really being patient. And I know we are damaging him, because we got a deal with Liverpool in the summer and the deal is there, and we are respecting the decision and taking the sporting decision responsibly from my side.
“It can change for him, in case Liverpool take off this clause. If they don’t want to, okay, but the player is getting damaged.”
Unai Emery and Harvey Elliott during Everton vs Aston Villa.(Image: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
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While speaking on Thursday morning, Reds boss Arne Slot also expressed his frustration at how the current campaign has gone for the youngster.
Slot said: “I think for him, for everyone, it didn’t work out as he wanted it, as we wanted it and probably also how Villa wanted it, because you usually sign a player or bring him in on loan to use him.
“That hasn’t happened a lot. That’s not for me to answer why that is. But of course, it’s never nice for a player not to make so many minutes, especially after the season he had with us, where he made – I assume – even more minutes with us than these 280.
“He went over there to get more playing time, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. And for such a talented player that did so well in the U21 Euros [last summer], you want a player like that to get more and more playing time.
“He went to a very, very good team as well, where they also have a lot of good players. I don’t know why he hasn’t made the minutes he was expecting. That’s not for me to answer.
“But it’s always a pity if a player hardly plays for two years, let alone a player of that age that has shown during the [U21] Euros that he’s such a good player.”
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