Liverpool transfer news: Arne Slot confirms Harvey Elliott plan after £35m Aston Villa escape

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has confirmed that Harvey Elliott will be part of the Reds' pre-season preparations for the 2026-27 campaign.

The 23-year-old has endured a torrid time in the West Midlands since making the switch from Liverpool in the summer, playing just nine matches across all competitions and scoring one goal.

In total, Elliott has featured for a mere 277 minutes for Unai Emery's side, only making one Premier League start and not even earning any top-flight minutes since February 1.

Villa agreed to a conditional £35m obligation to buy when they signed Elliott on loan, but they only had to honour that agreement if he made 10 Premier League appearances; he is currently on four with just two games to go.

The England Under-21 international has a year left on his contract with Liverpool, and speaking to journalists in Thursday's press conference, Slot confirmed that Elliott would at least be a part of the team for pre-season.

Harvey Elliott to return to Liverpool for 2026-27 season

"He’s contracted to us so he will be with us in the start of the season," Slot said, before expressing disappointment at Elliott's lack of minutes during his stint at Villa.

"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," Slot added.

"That hasn’t happened a lot. That’s not for me to answer why that is. He went to a very, very good team as well, where they also have a lot of good players.

"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."

What does the future hold for Harvey Elliott?

Elliott's career had already plateaued before his switch to Villa Park, as Slot rarely trusted him from the first whistle last season; just six of his 28 appearances came as a starter.

The 23-year-old nevertheless made an impact when called upon, scoring in three successive Champions League matches - including the winner at Paris Saint-Germain - and providing a goal and assist in a 3-2 Premier League loss to Brighton & Hove Albion.

With Mohamed Salah on the way out and Federico Chiesa yet to win Slot's trust, Elliott should be given the opportunity to make a name for himself on the right-hand side again, or in a central role that would allow Florian Wirtz to move out to the left.

However, Elliott's struggles under Slot last term suggest that the Liverpool manager is not fully convinced of his potential, and a disastrous time at Villa will have done nothing to help that.

A new contract is also unlikely to be a topic of discussion right now, so a permanent exit should materialise, and Liverpool have reportedly contacted five clubs already over a deal for the player.

Elliott has scored 15 goals and provided 21 assists in all tournaments for Liverpool since joining from the Fulham academy in 2019.