One start and 96 minutes – what has happened to Elliott?

Harvey Elliott’s recent resemblance to the Aston Villa Christmas video served as a reminder that he is still at the club.

The Liverpool player on loan spent a short time on Sunday at Villa Park, which is more time than he has played in the Premier League in the previous two months.

At Bodymoor Heath training ground, he was posing for a laundry trolley while sporting a festive jumper. His Christmas wish is likely to change fortunes.

His Anfield deadline-day switch was intended to be so much, but it quickly failed.

If Elliott plays for Villa ten times and is still in limbo after five starts, the decision will become permanent.

He had no other choice but to rejoin the Reds or stay at Villa because he appeared to be unhappy with his 89th-minute substitute role for Liverpool against Newcastle in August, which he had played for.

Talks are planned to determine a player’s future if they haven’t played in the Premier League since September.

Unai Emery made it clear that he wanted Elliott, while Villa were already showing signs of interest and Monchi, who has since been replaced by Roberto Olabe as president of football operations, was the one who had taken the lead.

West Ham had an interest in moving to RB Leipzig, but Villa signed him on loan with a 35-million purchase commitment on the day.

He remarked at the time, “I loved every minute of it [at Liverpool], every second, every day. I wouldn’t alter it.

The decision to play first-team football was, however, what was most crucial for me when I made the decision.

In his final 12 weeks, he has played 96 Premier League games, with Fulham’s only exception coming in at half-time. A goal on his full debut against Brentford in the Carabao Cup in August seems far off.

His last game was against Feyenoord in the Europa League on October 2 as a substitute in the 86th minute.

In the end, Villa’s intentions appear to be off. While some people believe Elliott hasn’t provided the expected level of quality, sustainability and profit issues are taken into account.

Elliott was not eligible to face Liverpool last month, so Emery has provided some cautious explanations regarding the omission of him from their previous five Premier League squads.

Emery, a demanding manager, believes the current situation has passed.

We currently have a lot of matches. Before leaving Elliott out of the squad for Sunday’s win over Wolves, Emery said last week, “We must concentrate on each match with the players we have now.”

We don’t think about the January transfer window. One of our players, he should be able to assist us.

Then, we’ll make a decision, “. First of all, other players are very effective performers. This is the first justification for his lack of play.

One of those is Morgan Rogers. One of Thomas Tuchel’s England stars is his form.

Villa residents were also surprised by Emi Buendia’s revival. The attacking midfielder had been anticipated to leave, but Emery has since found him crucial.

Elliott, who has appeared in 201 of his career starts out as a number 10, only to be blocked by Rogers and Buendia.

The 22-year-old has always maintained her focus, though. When he arrived at Villa, he shakes hands with journalists to properly introduce himself. He is humble and polite.

Elliott’s hopes are waning as the year of the World Cup approaches.

Under Tuchel, Elliot Anderson and Alex Scott, both of whom impressed with Elliott at Euro 2025 in Slovakia, have been given senior call-ups, with the latter making his debut.

Elliott shined in Slovakia, but he’s still waiting for a loan. In the next two weeks, his future is likely to become clearer.

Liverpool viewing him as a Villa player is unlikely, with no recall clause in place, making a return to Anfield. However, if Villa were willing to pay the required sum in addition to the loan fee, the agreement could always be canceled.

Due to Liverpool’s plans to sell Elliott and reduce his wages, finances will also be taken into account. After essentially selling him in the summer, would they be happy for him to return?

However, if he stays, he runs the risk of ruining a whole season of potential entry into Tuchel’s World Cup plans.

He is not being considered for a move to a league with a different calendar, like Major League Soccer.

However, leaving Villa, Liverpool, or Elliott alone and wasting a year in his career would be absurd.

No one can question his ambition after winning the Premier League last year, and he continued to pursue his goals.