Andoni Iraola confirms Harvey Elliott Liverpool plan after Aston Villa loan disaster

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has confirmed that Harvey Elliott will be given a chance to impress in pre-season after a disastrous loan spell with Aston Villa.

The 23-year-old has returned to the AXA Training Centre after a fruitless year under Unai Emery at Villa Park, where he made just nine appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal in the EFL Cup.

Elliott was restricted to just one Premier League start for Aston Villa and did not make the matchday squad for any of their final eight top-flight games, as the Lions successfully got out of their obligation to make his stay permanent for £35m.

Elliott needed to make 10 Aston Villa appearances for the Lions to fulfil their conditional obligation, and Emery admitted that the situation was "embarrassing" for everybody involved.

However, after Iraola offered Elliott a Liverpool lifeline in his very first interview, the new Reds boss has revealed his immediate plans for the former Fulham starlet.

Harvey Elliott to be given Liverpool chance in pre-season

"Definitely Harvey is here with us," Iraola said at his first press conference. "I have seen him with this eagerness of showing himself, getting himself ready again. He will have a chance during the pre-season.

"We will need him and it's a good sign he came one week earlier. He's been training with the Under-21s and I hope we can see him in a good place.

"Last season had to be very difficult for him because it was a strange situation where basically they couldn't even put him to play.

"I think he uses this, what he has experienced – the bad situation he has experienced – to make him even more eager to be a Liverpool player, yes."

Liverpool's first pre-season game comes against Sunderland in Nashville on July 25, and the Reds will also take on Wrexham, Leeds United, Monaco and Como before their Premier League opener away to Newcastle United on August 23.

Does Harvey Elliott still have a future at Liverpool?

Elliott's experiences under both Emery and Arne Slot were painful, as during the 2024-25 campaign, the 23-year-old started just six games for Liverpool; two of which came in the Premier League.

Elliott was deployed in a variety of roles two years ago, including number eight, number 10, left wing and right wing, and he will ostensibly have a chance to prove himself in the latter position this summer.

Liverpool are yet to sign a direct Mohamed Salah replacement, while his backup for the past two seasons - Federico Chiesa - has consistently struggled for both form and opportunities.

Elliott has proven himself useful to Liverpool when given a shot, memorably scoring in three straight Champions League games in 2024-25 and registering a total of 36 goal involvements from 149 games in all competitions.

However, as the attacker's deal expires in 2027, failure to prove his worth in pre-season could lead to a sale in the second half of the summer transfer window, which Iraola has also sent FSG a clear message for.