The sight of Harvey Elliott walking out to join Liverpool’s under-21s squad for training after two months out with a fractured foot was an encouraging sight for supporters.
By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com
Joining the likes of James McConnell, Amara Nallo and Kieran Morrison for a spirited session, watched by coaches Barry Lewtas and Jay Spearing, the 21-year-old took a vital next step in his recovery.
Tracked carefully by the club’s fitness staff, Elliott was able to join full training on the ball, including a part in small-sided games on the outdoor pitch at the AXA Training Centre, with no obvious signs that he is still feeling the effects of a blow felt on England duty in September.
All being well, Elliott will rejoin his first-team colleagues for training in the buildup to Liverpool’s trip to Southampton on November 24, with a chance he could even make the squad at St Mary’s.
As they have throughout his time out, Arne Slot and his staff will take caution when it comes to the No. 19, but there is a sense that he is now at the end of his recovery, with that careful management paying off.
It comes after a difficult start to the season for Elliott beyond his injury, with the young midfielder only featuring once so far – that being off the bench in the 2-0 win over Brentford in August, and even then he was afforded just seven minutes of normal time.
That came despite no player clocking more minutes during Slot’s first pre-season in charge, with Elliott tied with Mohamed Salah, Jarell Quansah and Kostas Tsimikas having played almost five hours of football over four warmup games.
No player created more chances (nine) or registered more assists (two) in the Reds’ friendlies than Elliott, who also played the most passes into the final third (26).
Elliott had spoken of his excitement at transitioning to Slot’s “very elegant, Dutch style,” but when it came to the campaign proper it was clear that the new head coach had settled on a different midfield unit.
Late arrivals for pre-season due to their involvement at the Euros and Copa America, the trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister began the season as first-choice starters.
That left Elliott on the outside looking in, and with few changes required in the opening weeks of the season his game time was limited to say the least – and only made worse, of course, by fracturing his foot in training with England’s under-21s.
Over the course of his two-and-a-bit months out, however, things have changed for Liverpool and that should prove positive for the returning Elliott.
His comeback should align – there or thereabouts – with those of Alisson, Diogo Jota, Federico Chiesa and, after a hamstring issue in the last game before the break against Aston Villa, Trent Alexander-Arnold.
And with Liverpool in the midst of a relentless fixture list only increased by the expansion of the Champions League and their progress in the Carabao Cup, Slot has begun to rotate his side with more regularity.
That has often come in midfield, with Slot explaining why it has been one of the main areas of focus ahead of that 2-0 win over Villa:
“If you look at the players who have played most games, it’s mostly our centre-backs and they don’t really run the most if you compare that to full-backs or the midfielders or the wingers.
“So there are multiple reasons why our full-backs or our midfielders are sometimes rotated, but definitely it also has to do with the quality of the players and the difference in, at least in my opinion, the quality of these players.”
Just like at full-back, where a debate has emerged with Andy Robertson and Tsimikas both holding a claim to the first-choice spot, Slot demands a lot from his midfielders, particularly in terms of work rate.
Most prominently that has seen Curtis Jones shuffled into the mix after a hit-and-miss start to the season, with the England midfielder able to pick up any of the three roles in Liverpool’s engine room: the No. 6, the No. 8 or the No. 10.
As it stands, Liverpool will play 12 games in 43 days before a possible break in fixtures at the start of January, averaging a fixture every 3.6 days, which could grow further if the Reds reach the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
That rotation will only continue, then, and with Elliott back in the fold there is every chance he is considered a fifth part of that core group of midfielders.
Unlike Jones, the likelihood – based on his use in pre-season and his shorter stature – is that he will be earmarked for one particular role, that being the No. 10, but that is arguably the position with most uncertainty around it.
Szoboszlai has been a mainstay of Slot’s side so far, with only Salah, Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo making more appearances, but the Hungarian has invariably been the midfielder shuffled out amid doubts over his end product as a No. 10.
“He’s been important for us, especially until now in our work when we don’t have the ball. He’s been outstanding in his pressing game,” was Slot’s early verdict on Szoboszlai, when speaking in September.
“I think something that we have to work on with him is that he’s also even more involved in scoring goals and creating chances for us.”
So far this season, Szoboszlai has one goal and three assists in 16 appearances – a goal contribution every 275.3 minutes, or one every three games – with seven Liverpool players scoring more and both Salah and Jones assisting more.
Jones’ production in front of goal is double that of his fellow midfielder – averaging a goal or assist every 136.6 minutes – which highlights why the 23-year-old has seemingly broken into that first-choice trio ahead of Liverpool’s No. 8.
Elliott could follow the same trajectory, as despite being considerably shorter than Szoboszlai he still offers a similar running power and pressing ability while combining that with an improving end product.
In 53 games in all competitions last season, Elliott scored four goals and laid on 11 assists, averaging a goal contribution every 185.7 minutes, or almost every other game.
And in last season’s Premier League, no Liverpool player won possession in the final third more often (1.3 per 90).
Szoboszlai, by comparison, scored seven and assisted four at a rate of one every 245.8 minutes. Interestingly, he is also only sixth in terms of possession won in the final third for Liverpool in this season’s Premier League (0.6 per 90).
That is not to suggest that Elliott will return and overtake Szoboszlai in the pecking order, but it certainly demonstrates that he can be a similarly valuable asset within Slot’s midfield.
His time out has represented something of a slow build, yet to cement himself under new management, but if Liverpool pull off the plan for his comeback, Elliott could become one of their more important players in the second half of the season.
(Images from IMAGO)
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